RWBY: Bruno Hawke
by JREB
Summary: Hello! This RWBY fiction is an AU from the point of view of an OC. In a lot of ways it's the same as the original to start, but due to the presence of the OC the story obviously alters a bit. I will say that it is supposed to be a slightly darker story, and so trigger warnings will be placed in the title with a * if need be. That being said, I hope you enjoy it.
1. Prologue

Prologue

I shouldn't be here. I should be sat at home on the Sapphire Mountain with Master Leopold and the others, training my semblance and my skills in fighting. But instead, I'm sat on some god-damned blimp taking me to this "Beacon" place with a bunch of annoying kids, most of whom are probably more skilled than me anyway.

It happened about a week ago. I was in the meditation room alone trying to focus my semblance some more, when Master Leopold walked in; a frail old man with a long wise beard, and the closest thing I had to a father. I had the utmost respect for him. Until that day.

"Bruno. Rise." He ordered.

I obeyed at the call of my name and rose to his attention, to see that there was someone else with him: a tall man with white hair, despite no facial signs of ageing. He appeared in a long black cloak with a green scarf, and wore small round spectacles over his eyes. I didn't trust him. That should have been my first clue.

"Bruno Hawke." He said, my name rolling off his tongue. "My name is Professor Ozpin. It is a pleasure to meet you."

He outstretched a small gloved hand to me. I glanced to Leopold who nodded. I obeyed and met his hand with my own.

"Pleasure to meet you too sir." I said cautiously.

"Now I suppose you are wondering why I am here young man."

I said nothing. Leopold scowled.

"I am the head teacher at a school called Beacon Academy down in Vale. Do you know it?"

I tried being more polite with him. "I know that Vale is the city at the bottom of the mountain sir, but I'm afraid I've never heard of Beacon."

"Then allow me to enlighten you: Beacon is one of, if not _the_, most prestigious fighting academies in the Realm. It trains only the most supremely gifted students in their ability to fight the Grimm."

This gave me pause; I'd heard terrible stories about the Grimm: merciless monsters with no cause rather than to kill. I'd hoped I'd never have to encounter one in my life.

"I have come here in search of new recruits for the academy, as I'd heard great things about the students of Leopold. I asked for the best: and he took me to you."

I realised what he was asking. He was here to take me away. To this Beacon place. I grew up on the mountain, I couldn't leave it behind. I responded, confidently but calmly, with

"No, thank you sir."

Leopold gave me a death stare. He looked about rip my head off. Then he calmly said through gritted teeth

"It isn't up for debate boy. You're going, end of story."

I'd never spoken back to Leopold before. And I almost would have done if Ozpin hadn't intervened.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for such hostility. We don't want to force you Bruno, but I'm going to be honest here: we're in danger. Evil is rising, and not just the Grimm. Terrorist activities have increased at an alarming rate, and with that so has more crime, hate, and fear. I've heard miraculous things about your abilities in battle, and your semblance. Those abilities can potentially save us all. But they can't from up here in these mountains. We're not asking because we want to take you away. We're asking because we need you."

I sighed heavily. Ozpin hadn't convinced me of much; just that he was annoying. But I could see that there was no way out of this. So I gave in.

"...when do we leave?"

"As soon as possible I'm afraid. You have time to collect anything you might need and say your goodbyes, but after that, we must make haste. I'll be waiting outside. And thank you Bruno. I know how hard this must be."

He bowed his head and left the room, Leopold in tow. I walked to my room, devoid of any emotion.

Once I entered my room, I flipped my desk over in a fit of rage, furious at everyone and everything: Leopold, Ozpin, Beacon... Then I looked in the mirror, my furious pale face staring back at me, my piercing green eyes glaring in fury. I was angry at myself. I was acting like a child throwing a tantrum. That wasn't me.

I reluctantly began packing. The mountain didn't have that much in terms of clothes: several pairs of brown trousers, several red shirts, a pair of fingerless combat gloves and some boots. But I did have a green hooded jacket I got from Leopold when I turned sixteen, which I liked a lot. I packed as much of them as I could, fortunately already wearing one of the red shirts and a pair of the brown trousers, and I wore the hooded jacket over the top.

I also packed my weapon and ammo; I didn't really think I'd need it, as I fight better unarmed, but it could help me in a pinch. It was a small, switch blade knife of non rusting unbreakable steel, which could double up as a blow dart shooter when I needed it. I never had much use of it during combat situations, but it was good for quick stealthy kills. I'd taken to calling it Tranquil.

When I'd finished, I made my way outside. It was always snowing on the mountain, but that day I really felt the cold. I looked back at the temple I once called my home, before turning back to Ozpin, who was waiting by his hover car.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

I nodded solemnly.

"Then let's be off."

We got in and drove off, abandoning the temple.

Which is why I'm here now. Sat on a blimp waiting to be taken to this prison they call a school, surrounded by kids who all think they're the bees knees; except for one ANNOYING voice from the other end of the blimp constantly going on about how she "doesn't want to be the bees knees," and instead wants to be "a normal girl with normal knees," as if deliberately trying to sound like every generic gifted female character ever. I almost wanted to rip my ears out.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

I looked up from where I was sat and saw a young scrawny kid looking wheezily out the window. He looked like he was going to throw up any second. I got up from my seat and walked up to him.

"Are you all right?" I asked.

He looked at me. He was quite a weak looking kid, with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing quite basic, makeshift armour.

"Yeah...I'm-"

He gagged.

"Maybe you should step away from the window for a bit and sit down." I suggested.

"Yeah...that sounds good."

He limply hobbled over to where I had been sitting and took in a deep breath. He seemed to look better almost immediately.

"Thanks." He said. "Heights aren't my strong suit. Anyway, I'm Jaune. You?"

"Bruno." I replied. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise. I think we should be getting close to the school by now. You excited?"

"No." I said abruptly.

I wasn't trying to be hostile, as Jaune seemed like an okay guy, but I spent my entire life on a mountain. I had no experience in talking to people.

"Why not? Everyone dreams of coming here, it's like the greatest honour to ever receive."

I rolled my eyes. "Right."

"My parents and grandparents all went here, and I'm determined to follow in their footsteps!"

He sighed.

"I wish they would've given me a better weapon than this generic sword though."

He unsheathed a long steel blade. It was an impressive make, but nothing extraordinary.

"Cool."

He smiled. "Thanks. So what do you have? I assume some sort of massive overpowered war hammer or something right?"

"Not really."

I pulled out Tranquil and showed it to him.

"Huh. Well glad to know I'm not the smallest in the school."

The blimp stopped.

"That sounds like us. Come on, let's see the school!"

We got up and walked towards the blimp exit, leading out towards the school.

It was quite an impressive structure, but it was nothing to gush over. Jaune however had other ideas.

"Holy... This place is incredible! Just look at how massive and beautiful it is! Right?"

"Uh, sure." I said.

"Ugh, does anything impress you?"

"Not yet."

I turned my head to see a girl in a red dress about to stumble back into some luggage. I darted past Jaune in an attempt to catch her. She landed safely in my arms, but I knocked one of the bags over in the process.

The girl turned to me as if to thank me, but her eyes quickly jolted back to ahead of her following a sharp deathly voice.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

She was a beautiful pale girl with white hair. She had pretty blue eyes and a scar across her face. She was wearing a beautifully designed white skirt which glistened in the sunlight. And on top of all that was fury. She was staring and pointing at the girl in my arms, who was struggling to make a response. I decided to intervene.

"Look miss, I'm very sorry about-"

"SORRY?! You could've blown us up!"

She stormed past me to pick up the bag I'd knocked over. I realised I'd been holding the girl in red the whole time, so I lifted her back up to her feet. She smiled at me. Then the girl in white said, whilst holding a red crystal thing in her hand

"This is Dust! Highly explosive energy from the Schnee Quarry. And you knocked it over!"

I noticed she was still blaming the red girl for all this. I stepped in between them.

"Hey, I'm the one who knocked the bag over, leave her out of this, okay?"

She stared furiously at me.

"How could you be stupid?"

"I said I was sorry, I-"

"You almost blow us up, and you're sorry?!"

"I didn't know it was-"

"And another thing..."

She interrupted me every time I tried to speak. There was no point in arguing with her. Then I got an idea. I'd seen it work once before from some guy in a bar down in Vale, but it may not work now. Plus, I'm pretty sure I'm not confident enough anyway. Still, it would probably shut her up for a second. Oh well

"You are really pretty, by the way!"

She stopped and stared at me, looking more confused. I took the opportunity and put my hand up and said

"Now before you say anything, let me just say that I'm really sorry, and I promise to be more careful next time."

She still didn't look convinced. I quickly added

"Tell you what, if I help carry your bags to your room, will you forgive me?"

She let out a short huff.

"Fine."

She turned around and sternly walked away. Jaune walked up to us.

"That was ballsy. Do you need any help with the bags?"

"I'll be fine." I turned to the girl in red. "You all right?"

"Yeah. Thank you."

I recognized the voice. She was the "normal knees" girl from the blimp.

"No problem. Anyway I should get these bags."

I walked over to the trolley.

"Oh, I'm Ruby, by the way." She said.

"Bruno." I replied. "He's Jaune."

"Nice to meet you." He said.

"Anyway, see you guys." I pushed the trolley after the girl in white as she led me inside. When we got inside, she led me to the sleeping bag she was sleeping in. It took a bit of doing to manoeuvre through everyone else's bags, but I managed.

"...figured you'd get better accommodation here." I mumbled.

"Shut up." She snapped. "We all sleep here on the first day, you idiot."

"Really?" I asked as I put her bags next to her sleeping bag.

"Yes. Do I have to explain everything to you?"

"No, I'm sorry. Am I done here?"

"Yes. Go away."

I turned to walk away, when she said.

"Wait."

I turned back.

"My name's Weiss. You?"

"Uh, Bruno."

Surprisingly, instead of fury, her face was filled with nervous redness.

"Do...do you really think I'm pretty?"

Damn it. Fighting, I can handle, helping people, I can handle, maintaining a conversation, I can't handle, but talking to girls? I had no clue. I stood there nervously, struggling to find some way to respond. I came up with

"I..uh, have to do- with the...bye."

And quickly walked off. Ever smooth Hawke. Ever smooth.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

After leaving Weiss, I made my way to the main stage in which the other students were gathered. I saw no sign of Jaune or Ruby, but I assumed they were there somewhere. If I wanted to I could've found them with my semblance, but I didn't need to so I decided against it. May draw unwanted attention.

I looked to the main stage to see Professor Ozpin standing in front of the mike. It was especially impressive how he started his speech with the sentence

"I'll keep this brief"

And still managed to make it annoying to listen to. He said something about our evaluation being tomorrow and how we should be prepared and something or rather, I cut out about halfway through. But it turned out Weiss was right about us all sleeping together in one room. Which sucked.

I can't sleep with other people nearby. On the mountain, it was me, Leopold, and maybe two other students at a time, and we'd sleep in separate rooms. If there was a guest somewhere, no matter how far away they were from me, I'd have trouble sleeping. This would be a long night.

When we got into the room, I realised it would be too long. Everyone was so tightly clamped together that they were touching each other, and no one had any space to themselves. I couldn't handle it. When the teachers were looking the other way, I sneaked out.

I quickly decided that the roof would be the best option, only I'd have to climb it from the outside. Wasn't too much of a problem, and may help for tomorrow in terms of some extra physical exercise. It was just an inconvenience.

I eyed up the side of the building. Fortunately the hall building had a relatively low flat roof, so it should be easy to sleep on. I placed my hand on the wall, and was about to begin my ascent when from behind me I heard

"What are you doing?"

I turned to see a girl staring at me with narrow questioning eyes. She had long black hair and a black bow on her head. She wore a black and white corset with white shorts and purple leggings. And her beauty gave me the same amount of awkward nervousness as Weiss' did.

"I-err...I was just..."

She walked towards the window to the hall and peered inside.

"I wouldn't want to be stuck in there either. Most of them are only here to boast about it, the rest because they think they deserve it."

She turned to me.

"What about you?"

I shrugged nervously, struggling to produce words. She smiled slightly.

"Come on, I'm not that pretty. You can talk to me. Breathe."

I did as she commanded. Ironic, learning to talk to girls from the girl you're talking to.

"...I was forced to come here." I said quietly.

"There you go."

She seemed more happy that I spoke than what I'd actually said.

"I guess so was I." She went on. "But if that's all right I'd rather not talk about it."

I smiled. "Not talking. I like the sound of that."

"Fair enough. So, what are you doing out here?"

I decided I trusted her.

"I can't sleep with other people nearby. I find it too uncomfortable. I was going to...sleep on the roof."

She raised an eyebrow. "And how did you plan on getting up there?"

"...By climbing it?"

"Any weapon use after hours is strictly forbidden."

"You rely too much on your weapons. That could kill you in a fight."

Before she spoke again, I turned, placed a hand on the wall, and leaped up it as fast as I could to get to the top. I then turned to the girl below. She was impressed, but didn't show it. She then scampered after me up the wall, not as quickly but still quite fast, but I caught her hand and pulled her up at the end.

"You didn't need to do that. I had it." she told me.

"I didn't need to, but maybe I just wanted to hold your hand." I don't know where that came from, but I didn't really care.

She raised an eyebrow.

"Cute."

We looked up at the night sky. The good moon emitted a warm glow which calmed the gentle air, creating a relaxing atmosphere. The girl glanced at me.

"I'm Blake by the way." She said.

"Bruno." I responded.

"So, Bruno, are you nervous about tomorrow?"

"What's tomorrow?"

She looked at me confused.

"Our initiation. The thing which decides if we stay here. Ozpin did tell us this."

"Yeah, but I don't listen to anything he says." Then I realised something. "Wait, does that mean if we fail we can go?"

"No, if you fail you die."

"...cheery. Eh, still don't really care. I'll be fine. You nervous?"

"A bit. But more so about who's team we get put on."

I sat up.

"Team?" I asked.

She sat up as well.

"How do you not know this? The test is to evaluate us, and put us into partners within teams of four, which will be set for the next four years, and will also decide whoever will lead that team."

Every word sent shivers up my spine. Do the words "I spent my whole life on a mountain" mean nothing to these people? I can't work with a partner, much less a team. And I especially can't lead people into anything.

"...now I'm nervous."

She smiled. "Don't be. It'll be fine."

I decided to change the subject.

"So...what sort of weapon do you have?"

She unsheathed what looked like a massive cleaver with a whip attached, which then unfolded into a katana, and then refolded into a pistol.

"I call it Gambol Shroud. Not the flashiest but pretty reliable."

Not the flashiest? I'd like to see one she'd call flashy.

"What about you?"

I pulled Tranquil out of my pocket and showed it to her. She stared at it, then back at me, as if I was joking.

"Like I said, I don't rely on it too much."

"I'll say." Blake responded.

"What about your semblance?" I asked.

"I have like a shadow ability where I can dart around my opponents quickly and strike them from a different angle. You?"

I never made a habit of talking about my semblance to anyone, but I trusted Blake. So I told her

"It's hard to explain. It's like supervision in a way; I can see things which no one else can. Through walls, from a hundred miles away, even with my eyes closed it still works."

"How does that help in a fight?" She asked.

"Well, I can see how a person's body is moving and predict their strikes, in order to counter properly. I can also see weak points on tougher enemies, and it can help when I'm timing or aiming strikes or blocks myself."

"Huh." She said. "Can I see a demo?"

"Don't see why not."

Just like I was taught, I shut my eyes, counted to three twice and

BLINKED.

The world around me became completely visible. Everything unimportant went dark while everything else brightened up. Blake, along with every other person, emitted an orange aura. She shifted awkwardly.

"You can't see through my clothes can you?"

"Potentially yes, but I never would. I promise."

That seemed to convince her.

"Okay, let's start simple." She said, putting her hands behind her back. "How many-"

"6." I said.

She looked annoyed.

"Now, 3." I responded. "Now, 2, 5, 6 again."

"Hmph." She said.

"Now two middle fingers. Cheers Blake."

"Okay, what else can you see?"

I looked around a bit and saw someone in the distance.

"There's a guard on duty over there, but he won't see us. Not because of distance but because his orders have been to patrol the outer perimeter, as I can see he's been following a specific path for about an hour now."

"Not bad. Anything else?"

I looked back at Blake, and saw through her bow that she had two cat ears underneath. I hadn't realised she was a faunus. Didn't bother me, I just didn't see.

"I can see through your bow that you're-"

I stopped myself, regretting what I'd said. I was stupid enough not to realise that there was most likely a reason she was covering her ears. Her shocked, panicked, miserable face confirmed my fear.

Before I could even say sorry, she leapt off the roof and ran away, and I could see that she was starting to cry. I tried to stop her and say sorry, but she darted away before I could, until she was back inside. Completely embarrassed by my stupidity, I simply shut my eyes and laid back, hoping I could just forget about the whole thing in the night.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Woke up the next morning feeling as stupid as ever. I groggily leapt down from the roof top and made my way inside. A guard tried to ask me about why I was on the roof, but I ignored him. I wasn't in the mood for explaining myself to anyone.

I wandered into the locker room, where I was greeted by Jaune and Ruby.

"Where were you last night? We couldn't find you anywhere." Jaune asked.

"I slept on the roof. Quieter."

Jaune looked at me quizzically.

"Wasn't it cold?"

"No more than I'm used to. Anyway, I'm going to head to the starting thing. See you guys later."

"Bye Bruno." Ruby said.

I'd noticed that Jaune and Ruby had gotten pretty close since I saw them last. Whether there was anything there I was too socially inexperienced to pick up on. If there was, good for them I suppose. Shame though; I could never talk to a girl as well as Jaune could anyway.

I arrived at the starting area a bit earlier than I planned, but didn't really care. It was a cliff face overlooking a beautiful green forest. I assumed the forest would be filled with Grimm, but as always, didn't care.

When everyone else arrived, Ozpin began explaining the rules. Apparently we had to go into the forest, find an "artefact" and return. Seemed simple enough. He then went on to say

"You will also be put into partners and teams as a result of this test. Now it is important that you choose someone with whom you can work well."

I still wasn't sure on a partner: Jaune was someone I trusted, and could work well with, but I think he and Ruby would most likely go together, and I didn't want to intrude on that. Blake would've been perfect, in pretty much every way, but I was pretty sure I bollocksed any chance of going with her. Weiss would be okay if I excused her attitude, but I think she's more of a big game hunter and wouldn't bother with the likes of me. Personally, I'd like nothing more than to be on my own, but that wouldn't be an option. Ozpin went on

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with will be you partner for the next four years."

Wow. That, I didn't see coming. I could wind up with anyone and do nothing about it. Then I realised something he said: eye contact. I could go in with my eyes covered and get out without getting a partner at all. I could be on my own. That gave me a whole new outlook on the test.

The others didn't seem as happy; Ruby and Jaune seemed to panic. But they panicked even more when Ozpin said

"Let the test begin!"

And one by one the platforms began flinging students into the cliffs. I began to laugh at how unexpected it was, before I myself was launched.

Within seconds, I was soaring through the air along with my classmates, as we all struggled to find out how to land. I

BLINKED

And looked into the trees. I quickly worked out a safe pathway by positioning myself so that I landed safely in the foliage of the trees, before I slid down to the ground unharmed.

Realising that shutting my eyes for the entire test would prove difficult, I remembered that I kept a sash for meditation in my pocket. So I took it out and tied it around my eyes, heightening my semblance.

I could quickly see that several other people had already landed and were making their way towards finding an artefact. Fortunately, I could see the exact location of the artefacts through the trees, so I started making my way towards it. From what I could see, they were chess pieces, and were about 10 or so miles away. I started walking.

I could already see people I didn't recognise teaming up in the distance. I decided to ignore them and press on.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

I found myself in an open clearing, when I saw something long and dark slither under the ground. Seconds later, a giant black snake arose from beneath.

I darted to my left as it tried to bite me, and I quickly looked him over for weaknesses.

And I found out something; no amount of training could prepare me for the fear that a Grimm emits to a person. It's entire body was coated in a thick, scaly armour, yet it somehow did nothing to hinder it's speed. It struck at me several times with its hungry jaw, each time getting closer to a hit. As it recoiled for another attack, I focused intensely on anything I could use, and finally I found something.

His eyes were his most exposed point. I pulled Tranquil out, and analysed the movements of the snake. I pinpointed the exact moment when it would next strike, and when it did, I darted to the right and pierced it straight in the eye, ceasing all it's movements.

I was about to press on, when I saw someone I didn't recognize walk through the brush...and another snake move up to him from under the ground.

"JUMP!" I ordered pointing.

He instinctively did so, and narrowly avoided a white snake bite from beneath. But my reactions were faster this time, and as it began to descend on the stranger, I set Tranquil to dart mode and, choosing my moment, I shot it right in the eye, killing it instantly.

"Impressive." The guy said.

He was a skinny guy of medium height, with black hair and purple eyes. He wore green robes with a dragon design, and white trousers. He looked at me confused.

"Why are you blindfolded?" He asked.

"Heightens my semblance." I responded.

"Fair enough. Guess we can't be partners then. My names Lie Ren."

"Bruno Hawke."

As I said that, another more familiar soul stepped through the brush, wiping leaves off her white dress. Ren turned to her and their eyes met. They were partners. Ren didn't seem too pleased about that, but Weiss didn't seem to mind. She turned to me.

"Hey Bruno. Why are you blindfolded?"

I explained my semblance.

"That makes sense." Weiss concluded. "Well good luck to you Bruno, we ought to be off."

She turned to leave, Ren in tow. It didn't occur to me to tell them the artefact was in the other direction, but I was sure they'd figure it out.

I continued forwards, not encountering any resistance, before a shimmer of...something darted past my view. It was too fast even for me to see. I decided to wait where I was in case it came back. Sure enough, seconds later it returned. Only this time, I caught it...as in it charged into me before I could stop it, and knocked me flat on the ground, face first.

Whatever it was got back up quickly, and turned away from me. I got up and found it was more terrifying than any Grimm: it was the girl I'd pissed off the night before, and she did not look happy.

Neither of us said anything for a minute. Before she finally said

"You're pretty arrogant; blindfolding yourself because you don't need to see. You must be so lucky to be able to choose your partner while the rest of us are stuck with whoever we see first. You're nothing but an arrogant cheater."

She turned to walk away. I knew she wouldn't accept an apology so I made her an offer.

"I can guide you to the person you want for a partner. You can choose them, just like I can."

She stopped, thinking about it.

"I'm not cheating like you are."

"There's no rule against it."

She sighed and turned back.

"Fine."

"Do you have anyone in mind?"

"Don't care. Someone strong I suppose."

I scanned the forest. The options were pretty limited at this point, as most people had found partners already. I was quite happy to see that Jaune and Ruby managed to find each other. I saw a few potential matches; a blonde brawler, a ginger hammer wielder, a mage with bunny ears. But none really stood out.

Then I saw a warrior girl with red hair. I recognized her from the lockers when I overheard Weiss talking to her about teaming up. I think her name was Pyrrha Nikos. According to Weiss she was a tournament champion, and I trusted Weiss to know who the strongest people are.

"Do you know Pyrrha Nikos?" I asked.

"Heard of her, never spoke to her. Is she free?" Blake asked.

"Yeah, she's about half a mile that way." I pointed. "I'll take you there, come on."

"Do you have to?" She grunted.

"She might move from her current location."

She reluctantly agreed, and we walked. I'd never had an awkward silence before, but Blake introduced me on the walk over. I struggled for a good minute thinking of something to say. I went with

"I didn't tell anyone..."

She said nothing, still looking forward.

"Blake, I'm-"

"Sorry?" She turned angrily. "Well that makes it all better doesn't it?"

"I know you hate me, I just wanted to-"

"Just shut up." I could see tears forming along her face. "I don't care what you say, the fact remains that you're just another racist, and no amount of apologies is going to change that."

"I'm sorry I...wait, racist?"

"Yes." She scowled.

"Where did you get that?"

She snarled. "Don't act so dumb. It was obvious; you were attracted to me, you cared about me and trusted me, and I felt the same way. But as soon as you saw what was under my bow, you looked scared and shocked, like I was some monster."

I stopped and realised what she was saying. I sighed with relief and smiled. She looked confused.

"Blake." I said. "I looked shocked because I realised I'd uncovered something that was private and personal to you, and I was afraid you'd be angry about it. I mean, you were, but that's not important. The fact that you were a faunus didn't bother me in the slightest."

She looked at me, wiping the tears away.

"You really don't care?"

"I couldn't care less."

She let out a short, tearful laugh. After a second, I said

"Come on. We can still find Pyrrha before she finds someone else."

And I turned to walk towards her location. But I felt a hand on my arm and turned to face Blake.

"You all right?" I asked.

She was silent for moment before saying

"Take the blindfold off."

I was taken aback by her demand.

"But, then we'll make eye contact, and you won't meet up with Pyrrha."

"You said I could choose who I went with. I choose you."

I obeyed, and undid the sash, staring right into her eyes. She smiled, and then embraced me. It felt a little out of the blue, but it was warm and comforting. I embraced back and she, quite fittingly, purred in enjoyment. Sadly, we had to break away eventually.

"We still have an objective. As much as I'd love to do that again, we have to get it done. let's go."

"Lead the way...partner..."

I smiled stupidly.

"Okay, as cute and as relevant as that was, please don't call me that again."

She laughed. "All right."

While we were walking, a question arose, and I had to ask it.

"Blake. I promise not to tell anyone about...what's under your bow, but I have to ask this. Are you, or is anyone around you, in danger?"

She looked down at the ground. She began saying

"I won't involve you-"

"Not happening." I cut off. "I'm not going to let someone hurt you. I'm your partner now. If something happens, I'm with you."

She smiled.

"Thank you." She said. "As of right now, I'm not in danger, but if I am then..."

"Then you'll tell me."

"Then I'll tell you."

"Good. Anyway, the relic is just through here, come on."


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

We came to an open area, filled with beautiful grass and trees. The air felt soft on my face, and beckoned me further in. On the other side of the area, I saw a ruin of a temple, and on that ruin, sat the artefacts. I pointed and we began moving.

I did a quick surrounding scan. Good thing I did, as seconds after, Jaune and Ruby came running through the woods with four beowulves on their tail. I looked to Blake and she nodded and unsheathed her weapon, before sprinting at them in full force. I followed suit with Tranquil in hand.

I quickly scanned the closest beowulf and located their weak point; the soft spot under their left arm. After scanning the plan of action, I stepped out to the left, and as I predicted my beowulf swung with his left, and I ducked under and stabbed right in the soft spot, killing him instantly.

I turned to the other three, and saw them still fighting.

"Guys!" I said. "Under the left arm is a soft spot, strike there!"

After I said that, the others quickly killed theirs as well.

We regrouped back at the temple.

"Hey Bruno." Jaune said, shaking my hand. "Glad you made it this far."

"You think I wouldn't?" I jested. "Cheers for the vote of confidence. Well, I'm glad you two found each other."

"Yeah. I was...uh...rescuing her from a pack of, uh, boarbatusks, and we-"

"I found him stuck in a tree." Ruby input.

"Ruby!" He snapped, elbowing her. She giggled.

"Anyway, guys this is Blake." I said, referencing Blake.

"Pleasure to meet you ma'am. I'm Jaune Arc." He said with a smile. I like Jaune, but if he takes Blake away from me with his charm, I'll gut him silly.

"Ruby." Ruby said, calmly.

"Anyway, we should-"

The sound cut through the air, scraping against my semblance. I turned to see it: a giant, armoured bird swooping through the sky, with dark red eyes screaming in anger. Its wings stretched out to at least the size of the open area, and had talons adorned with dark-

"Wait, is that Weiss?" I asked.

Hanging from the talons was a familiar girl in a white dress, slowly slipping from her grasp.

"She's going to fall. We need to-"

Before I could finish my sentence Jaune sprinted forwards, as Weiss finally lost her grip and fell. I ran after him, ready to tell Jaune when to stop running in order to catch her. I checked my semblance and saw that he'd have to stop at...

I looked up to see that he'd already stopped at the exact right point and held his arms out ready. And Weiss fell beautifully into his arms.

I had never seen the point of the teams having a leader. But looking at Jaune, who had the sheer confidence and drive to randomly sprint into uncertainty to save someone's life: that screamed leader from all corners of the realm.

"Are you alright?" He asked as he helped her to her feet.

"Yeah, I...I'm fine." She looked into his eyes and whispered "thank you" before kissing him on the cheek. I swear, every god-damn girl wants this guy.

Ren ran up quickly after her, from the trees.

"Weiss, are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine." She said calmly. "Jaune saved me. Anyway, we need to go find Nora right?"

"...yeah we do." Ren said. "Let's move."

And they sprinted off into the woods.

"Jaune." I said. "We need to get our artefacts."

"Got it." He said, and we ran back.

But then I saw that the bird was circling back, and was headed straight for the artefacts. Running from it wouldn't work. I analysed all its weak points, but found none that I could exploit with Tranquil.

"What do we do?" Blake asked.

"We'll have to fight it." Jaune stated.

"He's right." I said.

Rallying behind Jaune was sure to lead us to victory, so I looked again for anything that Tranquil could-

Wait. Why does it have to be Tranquil? These guys could probably do it with their weapons. I reanalyzed: and struck gold.

"Guys, I have an idea." I said. "No one happens to have a sniper rifle do they?"

Jaune smiled and looked at Ruby, who smiled back before pulling out a MASSIVE scythe with a sniper rifle attached to it. I stared in disbelief.

"Remember how she helped me get out of a tree?" Jaune asked. "Well the tree's not there anymore to say the least."

"...that'll work." I finally said. "Okay. Ruby, I need you to stand over there." I pointed at a certain point on the ground which she quickly paced to. "And I need you to aim your sniper at..." I looked for an appropriate point. "That cloud there, and fire only on my mark. Got it?"

She set the sniper up. "Got it."

"Great." I turned to Blake. "I need you up in that tree over there, ready to strike the bird with your whip, preferably to catch it and pull it down."

"On it." She said before running to position.

"And Jaune, I need you to stand right here, kneel down and hold your shield up with your sword ready to strike. Got it?"

He did as I asked. "Like this?"

"Hold it stronger. The whole birds going to be charging at you."

He stared at me in shock. "What? You never told me that!"

"Well I'm telling you now. Hold fast and hold true."

"So what will you be doing?" Jaune asked.

"Not much. I'm just the call guy, you guys are the star team. Anyway, it's getting close now. Ruby, on my mark."

I stepped back behind Jaune and the bird flew into position.

"Ruby, fire!"

She fired perfectly and hit the bird straight in the soft spot on its wing. But I could see it moving further away to replenish. Which is what Blake was for.

"Blake, fire!"

From the trees, a long black rope shot out and wrapped around the birds neck, pulling it not only back towards the centre, but downwards directly towards Jaune.

"Jaune, be ready."

He held his position as best he could, but was clearly nervous. I believed in him though.

I saw from the woods that Weiss and Ren had reappeared, along with that Pyrrha girl, and her partner the mage with bunny ears. I looked back just in time to see the bird strike down at Jaunes shield beak first, and just as I predicted, the birds neck cracked on impact, as well as shoving Jaune about 20 feet back.

When they stopped, I didn't have to give Jaune a mark, as he leapt up and struck down hard on the birds neck with his sword, decapitating it on impact. He panted heavily afterwards.

"You did it!" I said.

"Thanks." He panted. "For everything."


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

The bystanders came over and surrounded Jaune, gushing him with praise. Meanwhile Blake had come down from the tree, and was walking towards me.

"You did fantastic."

She embraced me again. She still felt as as warm as before. In the end she broke away though.

"So did you." She whispered. "Anyway, we need to get the artefacts now."

"Agreed."

I turned to see Ruby waiting with her own artefact already in hand.

"Nice job with the wing Ruby." Blake said.

"...thanks." She said solemnly.

"You all right?" I asked.

"I'm fine, I just..." She sighed. "I'm worried about my sister."

"I didn't know you had one." I admitted. "What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing, I hope." Ruby admitted. "But I haven't seen her since I came here."

"I could check on her if you want."

"You'd do that?"

"Why wouldn't I? What's she look like?"

"She has long blonde hair which stretches down to her thighs, you can't miss her."

"All right."

I scanned the forest, searching for anyone who might resemble her sister. I was in luck; I found two girls walking back to the start point with their artifacts. One had long blonde hair just like Ruby said, and the other had short ginger hair and a pink skirt. Neither seemed hurt.

"She's fine." I said to Ruby, who's face lit up. "She found a partner and is walking back with her artefact in tow. Don't worry."

She sighed with relief. "Thank you."

I smiled. "Don't worry about it. Anyway, we should head back too."

"Right."

The eight of us who were there-Blake, Jaune, Ruby, Weiss, Ren, Pyrrha, the bunny mage (who I found out was named Velvet) and myself-grabbed an artefact. There were two different types of artefact left; White knight piece or black castle piece; and there were four of each. Blake, Jaune, Ruby and myself took the castle pieces, while Weiss, Pyrrha, Ren and Velvet took the knight pieces.

But as we turned to return to the school, a giant armoured scorpion emerged from the woods and charged straight for us.

"Death stalker!" Was all I heard before it barraged into us. I saw it coming and dodged, but the others didn't, and were scattered across the area, Velvet in particular landed very awkwardly and began bleeding quite badly. Jaune managed to climb back to his feet and gallantly declared

"We have to kill it..."

As the most able and trusting of Jaune, I obeyed and leapt to my feet. While its back was turned, I sprinted at it and leapt on top of it, Tranquil in hand, ready it strike at its brain.

Only to find it completely armoured with not only no quick way to kill it, but no quick way of even penetrating its armour. I frantically searched for a solution, only for its massive scorpion tail to smack down on my head, dazing my vision-real and semblance-and causing me to fall off onto the ground in a slump.

In my dazed form, I heard orders being bellowed from somewhere. It wasn't Jaune's voice, but someone equally as commanding.

"Blake, Jaune, and Ruby you need to make sure Bruno is okay. Ren and Pyrrha, on me." Weiss commanded.

"What about Velvet?" Jaune asked.

"Oh yeah..." She grumbled, annoyed. "Someone take care of her I suppose..."

"Ruby could you?" Jaune asked.

"Err, I could try, but..."

"Good."

Seconds later, Weiss, Ren and Pyrrha charged at the Death Stalker in an organised formation. Following Weiss' orders, they managed to do some serious damage; Weiss glyphed Ren up on top of the Death Stalkers tail and he shot at it directly, until the end was hanging off.

As they kept fighting, Blake and Jaune came up to me.

"Are you all right?" Jaune asked.

"I'm fine..." I grumbled.

"I'll be the judge of that." Blake said. "Where are you hurt?"

I blurrily checked my vision, and noticed that I actually was injured across my ribs, and that without medical assistance it could seriously damage me.

"Ribs..." I groaned.

Blake and Jaune lifted my hooded jacket and shirt up, to see what I meant. Although there wasn't much they could do from their end without bandages. I did notice Blake smiling a little to herself at the sight of my body, which, while wasn't really helping anyone, was nothing to complain about.

I was brought back to the fight by a cry from Weiss as she was knocked back by a swinging claw, causing Ren to jump down and check on her. Pyrrha stood alone, and in an act of desperation, leapt in the air and shot it on the armour. Only to be hit by the tail and be launched back. I had to act- to at least distract it while the others got to safety.

I stumbled to my feet and, visions still hazy, charged in a suicidal assault. But as I got closer, I realised that Pyrrha's shot had broken through the armour, leaving a gaping hole directly to his brain. I leapt up on to it once more, but as I did, it began to writhe around. But before it knocked me off again, I regained my balance and drove Tranquil right into the hole, ceasing all its movements.


	8. Chapter 7

*Chapter Seven

I saw that the others were all gathered near Velvet, and that Weiss and Pyrrha were tired, but seemingly fine.

I walked off the Stalker towards them, leaving Tranquil in its skull. I could pick it up later.

But the others were bleak in expression as Ruby examined Velvets wounds.

"How is she?" I asked.

"...she's unconscious. And bleeding badly." Ruby informed. "Maybe you could check, see if she'll survive."

That sent chills up my spine; this girl, one of our classmates, could die.

"Ruby, there's no point." Weiss said coldly. "She's probably going to die, and even if she does, she'll live miserably. We should just kill her and spare her the pain."

This suggestion was met with a punch across Weiss' face from Blake. Jaune stepped in between them to prevent anymore fighting. I just checked Velvet's state.

Unfortunately, Weiss was more or less spot on; she was bleeding very heavily through the amateur bandages Ruby had applied, and unless she received proper medical attention within the hour she wouldn't make it; from here to the school, the fastest route takes at least two hours on foot.

I told them everything I saw. They turned pale.

"As much of a horrible suggestion it is, maybe Weiss is right. We should end her pain now, save her another hour."

They all turned paler, even Weiss.

"Well, who among us could do that?" Jaune asked.

"I'll do it." I said.

Blake tried to speak.

"No arguments." I commanded. "I know exactly where to strike so that it's the least painful. The rest of you, I want gone before I do it. No one else needs to see this. Understood?"

They all miserably nodded, Ruby beginning to tear up. They all began walking, and Blake held my hands and looked into my eyes.

"You sure?" She asked.

I nodded, and she turned to leave. When they were out of sight, I turned to face Velvet who had begun coughing in unconsciousness.

"I'm sorry Velvet.." I whispered.

I reached for Tranquil, only to remember it was stuck in the Stalkers head. I miserably got up and shifted towards the Stalker, climbing aboard and placing my hand around my blade. But as I did, the Stalker roared, almost giving me a heart attack. This confused me beyond words; if it's still alive, why wasn't it attacking any one? I tried pulling the blade towards me, and it charged forwards, only stopping when I put the blade back in its original spot. I realised what this meant.

"No way..." I mumbled.

Just to be certain, I pulled it again, and it moved forwards again, stopping when I put it back where it was. What was going on? I analysed the inside of its head, wondering if I'd struck a nerve of sorts. Upon analysing I found that the chances of that were unlikely; it was more likely that it was just a reflex reaction to the pain and, if I'm perfectly honest, I'd probably do something similar if I could survive a blade in my head.

But just as I was done analysing, an idea popped into my head; it was a long shot, but the alternative was one I couldn't bare to think of.

I leapt off the Stalker and ran back to Velvet, carefully lifting her up and bringing her to the stalker. I placed her gently against the in-curved tail, and grasped the blade. Fortunately I could see that the school was almost directly ahead of us, but I could also see the price of this miracle: every movement of my blade was damaging the Stalker more and more, and would eventually kill it. Time was short.

I pulled the blade back as far as it would go, and the Stalker charged through the trees. Provided nothing significant slowed us down, we would make it there in about 30 minutes. I scanned the area to see where the others were, and they weren't too far ahead. But I couldn't stop for them.

When I finally caught up with them, most of them just dove away, seeing only the stalker and not me or Velvet. I did catch Blake's eyes staring back at mine, and winked at her face of disbelief. I continued forward.

Finally, the school was in sight, and I pulled full throttle for one final push, knowing this would kill the stalker. But as I did, I heard a squeaking sound from above my head, and looked up to see a loose hanging scorpion tail end above my head. I pulled out my blade in self-defence as it fell, but this killed the Stalker, and knocked my balance. So when the tail fell, I was defenceless, and it crashed on my head once more, as I fell off in complete haziness.

I hazily looked up and saw Velvet still lying there. She was still alive, but running out of time. I crawled slowly towards her; if I had to carry her through those gates I would. I slowly out reached a hand to pull myself up to her, only to stumble back down to my knees in defeat, too weak to stand.

I couldn't do it. The gate were literally right there, and I couldn't save her. I fell onto my back in defeat, and shut my eyes to rest.

Only to be shaken awake by Jaune and Blake, while Ruby and Pyrrha lifted Velvet from the stalker. Jaune and Blake proceeded to lift me up, and I passed out again in their arms.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

I awoke on a bed in a white washed room, surrounded by men in white coats. They noticed I was awake and talked to me.

"Can you hear me?" The head doctor asked.

I nodded.

"You and your friend are lucky to be alive son."

"Friend?" I mumbled.

"The faunus girl, Miss Scarlatina. She's alive and well, just like you."

"How are our injuries?" I asked.

"Besides a few scars, nothing that will keep you out of combat. Your ribs need some rest, but nothing permanent. Don't worry."

That sucked. A way out of this school would've been much appreciated.

"Anyway, you should be able to walk. Give it a try?"

I obeyed, and placed my feet on the ground. Walking gave me no trouble bar a little shakiness.

"Good. Now, I was told to send Professor Ozpin in as soon as you awoke."

"...yay..." I grumbled.

"You don't like him?"

"He's my warden of this prison. Without him I'd be back home, but instead he bought me like a slave and told me to fight. He's an asshole, in every sense of the word."

He said nothing, and just opened the door to let Ozpin in. I groaned.

"An asshole am I?" He chuckled.

"Sorry sir, slip of the tongue, won't say it again." I monotonously promised.

"It's important to be honest Mr Hawke. Anyway, the team assembly ceremony is under-way. You need to be there."

"Fine." I got up and followed Ozpin out. We said nothing as he guided me through to a large door.

"Your classmates are through there. I need to be somewhere else for the ceremony, so I'll see you when you're on stage." He turned and left.

I entered the room, and was immediately greeted by my peers. Jaune and Blake embraced me whole heartedly, while the others congratulated me from afar. Once Blake and Jaune released me, I turned to Velvet.

"How are you?" I asked.

"I'm fine. Thanks for saving my life." She smiled.

"Any time."

I heard Ozpin speaking on the stage. He began calling people up, four at a time. These were the teams, which were named and assigned a leader on the spot. They went through a few teams, and I even saw a glimpse of Ruby's sister with her partner. Apparently her name's Yang. Neither of them were chosen as leader of their team though. Ozpin then went on to call the names

"Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, Weiss Schnee, and Velvet Scarlatina."

The four of them went on stage.

"The four of you obtained the white knight pieces. You will hear by be known as team RWNS (pronounced "ruins"). Lead by... Weiss Schnee."

Weiss seemed very pleased with herself at that. Ozpin went on.

"And finally, Blake Belladonna, Bruno Hawke, Jaune Arc, and Ruby Rose."

The four of us went on stage. I was quite happy with that turnout; Blake, my best friend, and his girlfriend.

"The four of you obtained the black castle pieces. From this day forth you will be known as team JBBR."(actually pronounced "Jabberwocky", despite nothing in our names having the "wocky" part.)

I smiled at the rest of my team.

"Lead by..."

We all knew it would go to Jaune. There was no one on the field of battle with more prowess or courage than him. I was proud to have him as a-

"Bruno Hawke."

I froze, and woodenly stared at Ozpin, who smiled. How could he do this? If he didn't like me he should punish me! Not my whole team! Jaune was by far the best choice for the job, and he gave it to me. What the HELL was he thinking?

But Blake hugged me at the news, and pulled me off stage by the hand, the others in tow.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

When we were off the stage, the three of them embraced me, and showered me in congratulations. I woodenly accepted it, as I didn't want to upset them already as a leader.

Ruby then said "Guys, if it's okay, I'm going to go check on my sister now. I'll see you later." And walked off.

"We should probably go find our dorm." Blake suggested.

We obeyed and followed her to the room. We met up with team RWNS along the way, and found that our rooms were opposite.

We entered the room and found four beds in a line.

"Who gets which-" Jaune began.

"This one's mine." I declared as I slumped onto the nearest one, (third from the left) exhausted from shock of the day. "Choose which ever one you want."

Blake took the one on the far right next to mine, and Jaune took the one on the far left.

"I should go find Ruby." Jaune declared, leaving the room.

Blake then turned to me and smiled.

"Congratulations leader..." She said.

The word felt like ice in my ear and despite Blake, I cringed at the word. She noticed and felt hurt.

"I'm sorry." I quickly said. "It's not you."

"What's wrong?" She asked, concerned.

I sighed. "Jaune should have been the leader, not me. Ozpin must've changed it to punish me."

"Punish you? For what?" She asked.

"I don't know...attempting to cheat maybe?"

"But you didn't cheat, else we wouldn't be partners."

"And thank the realm for that..." I said.

She smiled.

"So what you're saying is that you think Ozpin is punishing you by making you the leader, even though you've done nothing wrong?"

"Well, he's an asshole. He'd probably try something like that because that's who he is."

Blake laughed. "So what I see is that there are two possible options: 1) you're right; Ozpin's an asshole and is punishing you by making you leader, even though you've done nothing wrong. Or 2) he made you the leader because you were the best person for the job."

She sat next to me and I stared at her, trying to understand what she was saying.

"Because, from what I saw, Jaune may have rescued Weiss or killed the Nevermore or taken the credit, but you were the one who told us what to do in order to kill it. You were the one who volunteered to put someone out of their misery when no one else could. And I've never met anyone who rode a death stalker back to school AND saved the life of someone everyone else had left for dead. That's what being a leader is about."

I took in her words slowly, trying to understand. I'd moped like this before, and usually whenever I do, no one helps me through it, and I just wait until it passes. But Blake had managed to break me out with only a few words. I stared longingly into her cat eyes, and I knew how I felt about her.

I pulled her in slowly. I'd never actually kissed a girl before, being an introvert who lived on a mountain, but I didn't feel nervous about doing it to her. And I would've done it, until Jaune and Ruby came back in, and I panicked and released her.

"Oh, sorry, didn't mean to interrupt..." Jaune hesitantly remarked.

Blake and I broke away awkwardly, and there was silence until Ruby suggested we go to bed. I agreed, and changed into my night wear in the bathroom. Once I was out, the others came in to change one by one, apparently as uncomfortable about changing in front of others as I was. We all just slumped into bed and fell into a slumber.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

I was woken up by Jaune shaking me rapidly.

"We're late! We're late!"

"For what?" I grumbled.

"Oh, the hunter parade, class you moron!"

"We have class?!"

"YES!"

"Bollocks!"

Jaune and I rapidly changed into our uniform, although I was still half asleep. I noticed that Ruby and Blake weren't here.

"They must've already gone." I concluded.

"We shouldn't hang around then, come on!"

Once we were changed we sprinted out the door to get to first class. It took about a minute to get there since we were quick, but we made it in the middle of a lecture by some lanky guy with green hair and a caffeine addiction. His eyes, along with the eyes of our classmates, snapped towards us.

"You two!" He snapped and zoomed to us. "What time do you call this?"

"Sorry sir." Jaune began. "We were just...er..."

"Could I have some of that?" I grumbled groggily while pointing at his mug.

I only realised what I'd just asked after asking it. Everyone in the room stared dumbfounded at the question, and the professor snarled angrily. Jaune looked terrified. But I was too tired to change my expression.

"No." He finally said, furiously. "Now sit down."

I slumped to my place and threw my head against the desk, only to snap back up due to the prodding of an annoyed looking Blake. She wasn't happy. The professor stared at me.

"Since you disrupted my lesson, would you mind telling me the advantage the Faunus had which eventually helped them to win the war?"

Was he serious? I learnt this when I was 6.

"Night vision." I slurred. "The generals of the human army overlooked the faunus abilities to see in the dark, and thought a night assault would suit their advantage. It didn't."

He stared at me, annoyed that he hadn't caught me out. He returned to the lecture, and I slowly lowered my head and waited for it to end. When it did, we all got up and left.

Once we got out, Blake snapped at me.

"Where were you?!"

"I overslept."

"Yeah, I noticed. Why?"

"Why does anyone oversleep?"

She death-glared me.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I'll try not to do it again."

She seemed more satisfied with that response.

"Good. Anyway, lunch is getting served. Come on."

We walked together in the lunch hall and sat with the rest of our team, plus team RWNS. I sat between Velvet and Jaune.

"How you feeling?" I asked Jaune.

He looked panicked. "Who told you?!"

I looked confused. "Told me what? I was asking because we were tired this morning."

"Oh, right. Yeah."

"What did you think I meant?"

He sighed. "Cardin..."

"Who?"

"Cardin Winchester." Ren explained. "He's sitting over there."

I looked where he was pointing, and saw a tall, built brunette with three other knobhead looking characters. They were sitting and laughing to themselves.

"He's the leader of team CRDL, and takes pleasure in bullying people."

"Why?" I asked.

"Who knows? Doesn't matter, really. He especially has a thing for faunus."

Velvet looked down shamefully. I looked to her.

"Hey. If he ever picks on you, you tell us, okay?"

She smiled a little at me.

"Thanks..."


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

A week of some similar routines of showing up late, talking to Blake, and general debate passed, and Cardin seemed to keep his distance, so I never even spoke to him. Until one night.

I had been finishing up late after some extra study sessions after class, and packed up to go back to the dorm. But as I turned the corner I saw Cardin holding a crying Velvet up by her ears while one of his friends laughed at her. Without hesitation I stormed over.

"HEY!" I snapped.

They both turned.

"What do you want?" Cardin sneered.

"Let her go. Now."

They laughed and pulled her up higher. I furiously stood in front of him and grabbed him by the collar, hoisting him up and causing him to drop Velvet. He quickly caved.

"Okay okay."

He and his buddy turned to walk away before saying.

"Geez, it's not like she's a person."

I stared dumbfounded. "What was that?"

"She's a faunus. Not a person."

I snarled in rage.

"You racist! Who the hell do you think you are?!"

"It's not racist if you're right."

I almost pulled Tranquil out and stabbed him in the windpipe when the green haired professor arrived.

"What's going on here?"

I stepped back. "Nothing sir."

"Get to your dorms all of you."

We walked away. When we were out of sight, Velvet embraced me.

"Thank you. Thank you so much..."

"I told you, if they pick on you, come tell us."

She smiled cutely, and almost looked like she was about to kiss me. Before she backed up.

"Sorry, you have a girlfriend..."

Girlfriend? Oh, she meant Blake. Was Blake my girlfriend? I mean I liked her, sure, but I didn't realise it was official.

"Blake's not...never mind. Anyway, you should tell your team what happened."

She looked down. "I would but...Weiss wouldn't listen."

"Why not?"

"Sorry, forget I said anything, I should get to my dorm. Thanks again."

"Any time." I said as I walked to mine.

I flopped onto the bed, only to see Blake's eyes glaring at me.

"What were you doing outside?" She asked questioningly.

I saw no reason to lie.

"Cardin was picking on Velvet so I stepped in. She was thanking me before she went back to her dorm."

Blake's vision grew wider, more accusing.

"Thanking you HOW?" She snapped in a hush.

"By hugging me." I quickly added. "But she then stopped and didn't go any further."

Her eyes seemed to shrink a bit in content.

"Okay..."

She turned around and fell asleep. Blake waited up for me? And was jealous of Velvet? Holy crap...she IS my girlfriend! Why had I not been informed of this? I went to sleep.


	13. Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

I don't know which tires me more: getting up late and sprinting to our lessons, or getting up early. Either way, I was practically asleep during Professor Ports class, which was a shame because I actually liked him; he wasn't annoying or pretentious like the others professors; he was arrogant sure, but he was honest. I appreciated that.

At the end of the lecture, he once again asked for a volunteer in a Grimm fight. Every lesson he would, and he claimed that the person with the fastest kill time would gain extra marks in the end of the year. I was pretty much the only one who hadn't done it yet. Weiss held the record of about 10 seconds, while Jaune was the slowest at about 2 minutes. Weiss seemed eager to beat her time again, but Port wouldn't let her until everyone else had tried at least once.

But I didn't care. I was still imagining all the sickening things I'd do to Cardin if he touched one of my friends again. Even after the other night he was still a knob, and I don't think changing that would be easy

"Mr Hawke." I snapped awake at Ports call. "You have yet to face the Grimm in this class. I believe it's your turn."

I groggily entered the main stage as my friends cheered me on. I felt something slide by my leg as I walked past, but was too tired to register it.

I stood at the ready and reached for Tranquil...and found it not there. I

BLINKED.

And scanned the area. And found Cardin holding it with a smug smile on his face. I was slowly imagining more sickening things for him, when Port let out the creature.

I turned on it: it was a Boarbatusk, quite large, with quite a charge. But I knew that with no weapon I certainly wasn't ending this quickly.

Or was I? I analysed the situation and actually found a very quick solution.

I positioned my self with my left arm pulled into my side, and stood at an angle, right foot forward. I carefully timed the moment in which the boar reached me until

BAM.

With one quick, powered strike, I thrust my fist side ward's on to its tusk, snapping it clean off into the air and, while not stopping the boar itself, reverting the course of its charge to my right. As it did this, I shifted my weight onto my right leg and as it passed I kneed the boar up with my left leg until it turned over in the air, stomach exposed. Finally, I grabbed onto the tusk which just descended after launch and slammed it as hard as I could into its gut, until it ceased all movement.

I lay on my knees next to the kill, panting for a moment, and then realised that the room was in complete silence. I slowly turned to see the utterly dumbfounded expressions of all my classmates, as well as Professor Port. I looked at him.

"...can I go sit down now?" I mumbled.

He nodded slowly, and I rose and walked to my seat. But I stopped at Cardin and held out my hand, saying nothing but death staring him. He got the message and frantically put Tranquil back in my hands. I slumped back in my chair, and noticed everyone was still staring. And Weiss was fuming.

Port then remembered to check the timer.

"...2 seconds. New record."

In that instant, everyone (except Weiss and team CRDL) cheered. Why they waited that long to start cheering was beyond me, but they did. Port then dismissed the class.

Outside I was met with similar congratulations and pats on the back by my peers, but noticed Weiss strop off solemnly.

"What's with her?" I asked.

"Probably just upset you took her record from her." Jaune suggested.

"Really?...I didn't mean to upset her. I was just impatient to sit back down."

Blake laughed. "Don't worry about her. She's a bitch."

"Blake, come on."

She sighed, annoyed. "Sorry, but in all fairness, she did suggest leaving Velvet in-"

"Stop." I ordered coldly. "You'll remember that I'm the one who volunteered to do it. And we all agreed with her about it in the end. I hate the thought of what I almost did, but I don't blame myself, because I know that as soon as we start blaming people for situations like that, we're finished. None of that was on anyone, understand?"

I was cold to Blake, but I felt really strongly about the issue. Blake understood and nodded, though still looked upset.

"I'll go talk to her." I decided, and walked after her.

"Hey Weiss!" I called.

She glanced over her shoulder and snarled, still walking.

"Weiss, come on. Stop."

She obeyed and turned to face me, her eyes a mix of tears and anger.

"Who do you think you are? Hmm?"

Her question threw me.

"What-what are you ask-"

"I have worked my ENTIRE life to be the best huntress in the world, how could you steal my record like that? Do you have ANY idea how much practice it took me to figure out how to kill in that time? It's hard enough when you have some Whitefang bitch on your team, but now with you stealing my thunder?"

"Wait wait wait. Whitefang bitch? Who are you talking about?"

"Velvet! That little terrorist swine who should've died back in the forest. But thanks to you, she's now on my team and I have to lead knowing she could kill us at any moment!"

"Hang on," I knew exactly what she was saying and was furious at her for it, but I was not about just attack her for it without at least letting her explain herself. "How do you know she's a terrorist exactly?"

"Uhh, the ears are a bit of a giveaway aren't they?"

It took every ounce of my strength not to beat the crap out of her, but I kept restrained. I continued to argue

"Just because she's a faunus doesn't mean she's a terrorist."

"Oh don't give me that ignorant crap."

"Ignorant crap? You're the only ignorant one here; does the word "racist" mean anything to you? Because right now you're being the textbook definition of the word."

"How dare you-"

"Do you know how much crap Velvet goes through daily because she's a faunus? Do you have ANY idea how badly she'd have it if she didn't have friends to help her out? I mean, you've seen team CRDL right? Well, right now, you're acting pretty much exactly like them. She's not an animal, she's not a terrorist, she's a person; and more than that she's your teammate. And it's high time you started treating her like one."

Weiss looked at the floor, still angry but with a hint of guilt in her eyes, until she started tearing up. I'd followed her to apologize, but I didn't leave having done so. I didn't even comfort her. I just left her in her guilt. I had no tolerance for racists.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

I joined the others in the cafeteria and sat down.

"How's Weiss?" Jaune asked.

I hadn't regretted what I'd done until I looked at Ren and Pyrrha, and realised that, despite it being justified, I shouldn't have just abandoned her in tears like that.

"She's not great." I admitted. "She...uuhh..."

I was cut off by the familiar CRDL cackles and saw them harassing Velvet again, who I hadn't noticed was missing from our table. Before I could rise to intervene, Blake stood up and stood between them.

"Don't touch her." She ordered.

Cardin laughed. "Or what?"

She squared up to him, staring him dead in the eyes.

"Or things get ugly." She hissed.

Cardin and his group laughed in mocking tones.

"Can't get much uglier than your bow."

Blake's eyes widened at the comment and she fell quiet. I rose up and began approaching. But then Cardin made a grave mistake: he pulled on her bow, almost yanking it off, but causing her to cry out in pain. In blind fury, I sprinted between them, breaking them up before turning to punch Cardin in the jaw. As he stumbled to the floor, I pulled out Tranquil and held it at him.

"If you touch her again, I will flay you like a fish. Understand?" I spat, rage fuelling my words.

Cardin, who had somehow ignored my threat entirely, looked at Blake's bow again.

"...there's only one thing that makes people scream like that, and that's pulling on their-"

His eyes widened as he realised what it meant. He then looked at Velvet's ears again before looking back at Blake's bow. Blake and I, as well as the rest of the cafeteria, had realised what he'd figured out, and could feel the entire cafeteria staring at her. Blake stepped back a few steps before sprinting away.

"Blake!" I called as I ran after her.

As I left the cafeteria, I saw that she had completely vanished; she must've been using her semblance. So I BLINKED and followed her movements. But once I was lead outside, I knew exactly where she was.

I turned the corner and climbed up to the rooftop where I spent my first night. She was up against the wall of the adjoined building curled up in a ball crying silently. I approached her slowly.

"Blake." I said quietly, to announce my presence.

She slowly raised her head to reveal two long streams of tears cascading down her face. She looked at me and started welling up again.

"...did you see the way they...the way they stared?" She quietly let out.

Before she could start up again, I rushed to her side and embraced her as hard as I could. She hugged back and cried into my shoulder. I let her cry for about a minute before I answered her question.

"No. I didn't."

She raised her head again, puzzled by my response. I continued.

"I didn't see how they stared because I didn't look at them. They mean nothing to me; they're like background silhouettes that walk and talk. They're opinions mean nothing to me, just as they should mean nothing to you. If you really want someone's opinion of you, then listen to mine."

I cupped her tear soaked face in my hands.

"I love you."

Since the night in our room when she told me how to be a leader I knew that statement- no before that, the first time I heard her questioning tone as I climbed the roof we were standing on, I knew that that statement was true. And the entire time I'd been struggling to find the right way to tell her. But looking into her tear-filled eyes, thinking of all the horrible things I would do to the people who hurt her...saying it was easy.

She stared at me for a few seconds as what I said sunk in. Tears started welling in her eyes, and I was worried I'd somehow hurt her in some way. But then she smiled and let out a tearful laugh. And I kissed her deeply. She pulled me in closer and kissed back, and I never wanted to let go. When we finally did, I spent the next few seconds wondering if I'd ever feel that good again. But then Blake quietly said

"I love you too."

And I stopped wondering. Being raised on mountain with no parents, I was pretty certain that no one had said those words to me-ever. So hearing them said to me for the first time felt as good, if not better, than the feeling I got from the kiss.

It also made me realise something strange. Something I had known since I met her, but never realised until she said those words: I don't want to leave. I'd been complaining the entire time about some way of getting out of this school, but now I wanted nothing more than to remain with her for as long as I could.

I looked at her bow, and it occurred to me that I had yet to actually see her ears with my real eyes. I gently put my hands on her bow and asked.

"May I?"

She seemed uncomfortable at first, but slowly nodded, and I gently removed it, and revealed her ears. They were black and purple, and suited her more than her bow did.

"See? You look beautiful, you didn't have to hide anything."

On the word "hide", her expression went dark with realisation, and she looked into my eyes.

"Bruno, what I'm going to say next...if you want to leave me after I say it...you can."

I smiled.

"Try me."

"...I was once a member of the Whitefang."

I stared in silence for a moment, processing the information, before saying

"Isn't the Whitefang that faunus terrorist group Weiss mentioned?"

Blake sighed.

"Weiss would call it that, wouldn't she? No, they aren't terrorists...at least they weren't. They're a group of Faunus that wished to stand up to the oppression against them, with the initial plan of peaceful protests and rallies etc. Until five years ago a new leader came into power. And..."

"And thought terrorism was the way to go about bringing peace."

"Yeah. And I couldn't agree with that. So I left, and decided being a huntress was the better alternative than terrorism. So here I am, a criminal hidden in plain view..."

"...all with the help of a little black bow."

We were quiet for a minute, before she continued.

"Bruno...if you want to leave me..."

I kissed her again, cutting her off, and then pulled back.

"Blake, I'll ask again: are you, or is anyone around you, in danger?"

She smiled and shook her head.

"Good, that's all I care about. I'm staying with you. I love you, kitty ears, dark past and all."

She blushed and hugged me.

"Anyway, we should probably head back. Our lunch is waiting for us."

"What about Cardin and his team?"

"We'll just have to deal with it. I won't let them touch you."

"My knight in shining armour." She jested.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

We walked off the roof and went back inside. As we walked towards the cafeteria we noticed that a lot of people were doing double takes at Blake. That was when she realised that she'd forgotten to put her bow back on. She put her hands up in a panic attempt to cover her cat ears, but I told her not to.

"Don't worry about it." I said. "No one's laughed at you, no one sees you as a criminal, the only reason they're double taking is because they didn't know you were a faunus before. Please Blake, just let them see."

She relented and put her hands by her side. We walked into the cafeteria and saw something which I had not expected to see.

Cardin and his team were on their knees having been seriously roughed up, while Velvet sat away at the sidelines. But no ones eyes were on her, nor on team CRDL. Every eye was locked on Weiss, who was standing triumphantly in front of them.

"...and if you dare to touch another one of my team-mates, or..." She sighed. "Or another faunus again, I will call my father who will have your legs broken and have you thrown into one of his dust mines! Am I clear?"

"Yes Miss Schnee." Team CRDL whimpered in unison.

"Good. Now get out of my sight!"

They obeyed and limped away. Weiss then turned to Velvet and put her hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

Velvet nodded nervously. Weiss held out her hand.

"Come on. Let's go back to our dorm."

Velvet took her hand and Weiss lead her out, but Weiss noticed me and Blake.

"You're a faunus too?" She asked Blake.

Blake didn't respond.

"Your ears are pretty." She said with a smile.

Blake looked puzzled by the comment.

"Uh, thanks."

Weiss then turned to me, with a much more threatening look.

"I wasn't lying when I said I could throw those idiots in a mine and break their legs."

She grabbed me by the collar.

"Compare me to team CRDL again, and you will receive the same treatment, undestood?"

I nodded quickly; not out of fear, but genuine respect. I regretted what I said to her, but I was glad that she listened to me.

She released me and took Velvet back to their dorm.

"Well, I didn't see that coming..." Blake said.

"Me neither. Anyway we should sit back down."

We went and sat with the rest of our team, who all noticed Blake's ears. They all met her with praise and congratulations; Ruby asked if she could pet them, but Blake politely said no.

"So, why did you feel the need to hide them in the first place?" Pyrrha asked.

"Uh..." Blake thought. "Well, the judgemental people like team CRDL were a big reason..." She turned to me. "But Bruno made me realise that I don't need to worry about them anymore, so I didn't."

"And thanks to Weiss, I don't think you'd need to worry about team CRDL anyway." Ren said.

"Yeah, that was brutal." Jaune said. "Bruno, you got off so easy when you took her record; I'm going to have nightmares about what she did to team CRDL."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind."


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

About a month passed again before anything eventful happened, with the exception of me and Blake going on our first date; I took her to see a movie and it went really well, but other than that, not a lot happened. Then things started picking up some more.

It was about 6 in the morning and I couldn't sleep, nor did I want to wake Blake. So I sneaked out to go to the gym.

You'd think to find the gym occupied almost constantly in a warrior school, but very few people actually used it outside of training. So at this hour, it was empty. Perfect.

I went on for my usual routine until about 6:30, when someone else walked in. It was too early for me to use my semblance and work out who it was, so I just hoped it wasn't someone trying to kill me and kept doing sit ups. If I was lucky, they'd just ignore me.

"Hey! How are you?" The voice said. It was female, but I didn't recognise her.

"I'm good, you?" I responded. I didn't look at who it was; too busy.

"I'm good as well. Didn't know anyone else used the gym this early."

"Would you preferred if I left?"

"Never said that, did I?"

"No, I guess you didn't." I sat up, being done with my set. I pointed behind me. "Throw me that towel on the rack?"

It landed in my hand and I wiped my face with it. I then stood up.

"I must say you do have a great body." She said.

"Uh, thanks, I'm sure you do too."

"Oh you have no idea..." She grinned.

I turned.

"Pretty arro-sweet mother of..."

I turned to see what could only be described as a goddess of a body. She had long blonde hair, purple eyes, a winning smile, and a perfect hourglass figure. I stared for a little longer than was respectful before shaking my head quickly.

"Sorry, I didn't-I mean, it's not what-"

She laughed.

"It's all right. I know what you meant."

She looked down at her chest.

"Can't really blame you I suppose. But be warned; I have a girlfriend, and she'd be pissed if you stare too long."

"That's fair. I also have a girlfriend, so she'd be pissed too."

"Anyway, seeing as we have at least another hour or so until it's no longer just the two of us, want to train with me?"

"Uh...sure I suppose."

We walked over to some equipment and began training.

"My name's Yang by the way. Yang Xiao Long." She told me as she lifted some dumbbells.

Yang...where have I heard that name before? I suddenly remembered.

"Oh, I know you; you're Ruby Rose's sister right?"

"The one and only! How do you know Ruby?"

"She's my team-mate."

Yang stopped lifting.

"You're Bruno Hawke aren't you?"

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

She put the dumbbells down and excitedly bounded towards me.

"My sister talks about you so much! She told me about how you rode a Death stalker back to school, and how you broke the record for the fastest boarbatusk kill whilst unarmed, and how generally kind and welcoming you and her boyfriend make her feel!"

I reddened.

"Wow, it was...uh...no problem I guess..."

"She thinks the world of you. Before coming here, she was really nervous about being the youngest in the school, and I was genuinely afraid that she'd drop out due to loneliness or something. Thank you so much for looking after her for me."

"She's my team-mate; of course I'll take care of her."

She smiled. "But, that isn't the only reason I wanted to meet you. Come with me."

She took me to the sparring area.

"Apparently you took out a boarbatusk in two seconds with your fists. While most people call that impressive..."

She crouched into a fighting position.

"...I call it competition."

I smiled and crouched into the same stance.

"Let's dance."

She charged for me and swung with her left. I easily blocked it and swung into her stomach with my left. It made contact and she was pushed back.

"Not bad." She let out.

"You're not so bad yourself."

She charged again, much faster than I'd anticipated, and all most knocked me flat. I ducked under just in time and met her in the side with my fist, before following through with a knee to the stomach. But after being pushed back from the blow, she pushed forwards and turned in a full circle before her leg finally came into contact with my head. I blocked it in time, but she still knocked me to the ground. From there, I swung my body around to get her in the other leg and pushed myself up as I did so. With her position wavering, I shortened the distance between us so that she'd have to stand on it, and then ducked under and broke the balance of that leg, knocking her down.

But in the same instance that she hit the ground, she punched the floor to propel herself back up, and followed through with a spinning roundhouse kick with her bad leg, knocking me back again.

Nevermore; Death stalker; Boarbatusk; none of these things were as hard to take down as Yang; she was fiercely brutal and quick, and tired out at a much slower rate than I did. Granted, I was fighting without my semblance as I didn't want to kill her, but it would've been difficult even then. Eventually, I knocked her off her feet once again, and despite not seeming all that tired, she seemed to accept defeat.

"Phew..." She gasped. "My sister was right about you."

I pulled her to her feet.

"I could be better; you on the other hand are freaking terrifying."

"That's not a compliment I'm used to. But, I'll allow it. Anyway, I need to be heading out; classes and stuff. But if my girlfriend's ever unavailable I'd love to train with you again."

"Fine by me. See you around."

She walked out.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

I took a shower and changed before I went back to the cafeteria for breakfast, and found Velvet and Weiss sitting next to each other in awkward silence. I sat across from them.

"Good morning, girls." I said.

"Hi..." Velvet said nervously. She turned to Weiss. "Weiss, I'm really sorry..."

"Not talking to you." She snapped.

I was disappointed; I thought Weiss was over this.

"Weiss..." I began.

"Before you say anything you'll regret Bruno, this has nothing to do with the fact that she is a faunus; I'm angry with her due to a different matter. Happy?"

"Uh...what's going on?"

"None of your concern." She snapped again.

Jaune then walked up holding some breakfast.

"Good morning ladies and gent! Where were you this morning Bruno?"

"At the gym." I responded.

He sat next to me.

"Ah, that makes sense."

He turned to Weiss and Velvet, and a look of realisation came upon his face.

"You two kissed!"

The two of them flushed bright crimson and Weiss got up and walked away quickly. Velvet tried calling after her but she slumped back in her chair.

"How did you know that?" I asked.

"I'm very familiar with the look people give while sitting next to someone they regret kissing." He sighed. "Too familiar..."

I turned to Velvet, unsure of what to say.

"Uh..."

"If you see her again please tell her I'm sorry..." Velvet whispered.

"What happened exactly?" I asked.

She sighed.

"Ever since she beat up team CRDL for me, she'd been really nice to me; talking to me, helping me in class, including me in everything and...it was stupid; we were alone one night in our dorm and Weiss sat next to me on the bed, asking me about my day and generally being really nice. No one else had looked out for me that much before; I mean, you came close Bruno, when you attacked team CRDL that night, but she was constantly being nice to me, and in the heat of the moment I just..."

She looked down at the table, miserably.

"I'm such an idiot! I knew most of what she was doing was just to prove to herself that she wasn't racist and I completely ruined that for her..."

Jaune rose from his seat.

"I should...with the...bye."

And he walked off. Cheers buddy...

I turned back to her, and then put my hand on her shoulder.

"Velvet."

She raised her head.

"How do you feel about Weiss?"

She thought for a minute.

"I don't know..."

"Okay...do you remember the night I saved you from Cardin? You almost kissed me as a thank you, but you weren't in love with me, you were just grateful. When you kissed Weiss, did you feel the same way?"

She thought for a minute.

"No. No, I was more than grateful; she was amazing to me, she put aside her personal beliefs in order to accept me. And I love her for that..."

She realised what she just said.

"Then you should tell her that."

"What? I couldn't...she'd reject me!"

"How do you know that?"

"I...I..."

"Right now, you're wondering about how she would feel, and imagining scenarios where you are together, and it's killing you. Right?"

She nodded.

"Well, if you say nothing, that won't go away. And if she rejects you then that's okay, because you'll know that it wouldn't work and you'd move on. Better than wondering without ever knowing, right?"

She smiled.

"You're right. Okay, I'll tell her."

She got up.

"Thank you Bruno."

"Any time."

She walked out after Weiss.

Then something occurred to me. How the hell did I know what to say? A month ago I could barely respond to a girl, and there I was giving romantic advice _about _a girl _to_ a girl. It's strange how far I'd come since I left the mountain. No, wait...I know what it was that made me know what to say. Or rather, _who_ it was. And I knew that I'd have to thank her for that someday. For everything.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

I continued to eat for a bit on my own until Ruby came in and sat across from me.

"Hey Bruno. Where have you been?"

"Went to the gym. Oh, and I met your sister by the way."

She reddened a bit.

"Oh, uh...she didn't happen to mention the things that I said about you did she?"

I laughed. "Yeah, they came up."

"Damn it Yang... I'm sorry."

"For what? You've done nothing wrong."

"It's still embarrassing..."

"Don't be embarrassed. It was...very flattering to hear. You should tell Jaune that as well."

"I already have. He kissed me when I told him."

"Fair enough."

Eager to change the subject, Ruby asked me

"How did you meet Yang?"

"I was training in the gym alone when she walked in, and we trained and sparred together. She's a freaking beast in a fight."

"I can vouch for that; can't tell you the number of times she immobilized me in a headlock when I was a kid."

I looked at my watch and realised we were late for class.

"Uh sorry to cut this short Ruby, but we're late."

"Smeg pot! We need to go!"

We got up and left.

"Oh, and 'smeg pot'?" I asked. "You've been reading too much Xray and Vav haven't you?"

"Eh, guilty as charged." She admitted with a smile.

But on the way over, a familiar, previously antagonistic voice emerged from behind.

"Mr Hawke?" Ozpin called.

I turned.

"Sir, I'm sorry, I need to-"

"I've already told them why you're going to be late." He looked at Ruby. "You on the other hand Miss Rose had better run."

She obeyed, said goodbye to me, and ran, leaving me with Ozpin.

"So what's this about? Transfer students or exams? Or...sir please don't make me go to the dance-"

"None of the above I'm afraid. I actually need your semblance for something."

"Sir, I'm sure Professor Oobleck isn't stealing your coffee-"

"_The man's a lying thief and he-_ Ahem-never mind. I need you to prepare to meet me at next break outside. And pack your weapon, just in case."

Wait. What?

"Sir, what is this about?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you right now."

"Why not?"

"Well, I actually lied about giving your next professor your excuse. So you're quite late my friend. Better hurry."

Bastard. I quickly paced to my next lesson, before realising that I was already late anyway, and tiring myself out wouldn't change anything.

One and a half lessons later next break rolled around, and I made my way back to my dorm. Ozpin told me to pack my weapon so I grabbed that, and said that he needed my semblance so I picked up a sash in case it needed to be amplified. Once I had all those things, I turned to leave.

Only to find my path blocked by the truest essence of beauty I'd ever known, who without warning leapt into my arms.

"Hey you!" Smiled Blake, kissing me. "I missed you this morning, where'd you go?"

"The gym because I couldn't sleep. Sorry, I would've invited you but you were asleep."

"Fair enough; I'd probably have clawed out your pretty eyes had you tried to wake me."

She noticed my weapon and sash.

"What are those for? Going somewhere?" She asked with a tinge of concern.

"Ozpin asked me to go somewhere with him because of my semblance. He wouldn't tell me any more than that."

"Can your team come?"

"I think he just wanted me. Sorry."

She sighed and then pulled my face into hers.

"Well then you listen here: you come back safely or I'll gut you, you hear?"

"Since when did you become the generic concerned love interest character?"

"Since the generic quiet-type protagonist decided to go into danger on his own."

She kissed me once more and let me go.

I made my way outside to where Ozpin was waiting in his car.

"Mr Hawke." He nodded. "I trust that you are prepared."

"I'd be more prepared if I knew what I was doing."

"Don't worry lad." He gave an untrustworthy smile. "You'll know what you need when you need to know. Now come on, time's wasting."

I got in and we started driving.


	19. Chapter 18

* Chapter Eighteen

We'd driven for about twenty minutes in silence, before Ozpin spoke up.

"Now, Mr Hawke, I'm sure you have some questions, so let me brief you beforehand. Yesterday, at around noon, murder took place in a bookshop named Tukson's Book Trade."

This news took me aback quite a bit.

"Murder?" I asked.

"Yes. The victim was the owner, Tukson. Unfortunately, that's all we know. That's where you come in; with your semblance, we might be able to find trace evidence that leads to a killer."

"Oh...that makes sense... I suppose."

"Ideally what we want is a suspect, but I know the limitations of your semblance so don't worry. All we need is a lead; a murder weapon, a reconstruction, a missing piece of evidence, any or all of the above. Can you do that?"

I'd never had any experience with something like this; outside of combat, the most I'd ever have to do with my semblance before was find anything Leopold had misplaced. I wasn't sure. But I told Ozpin

"I'll try."

Sure enough, an hour later we arrived at "Tukson's Book Trade" in Vale. I'd never been to this part of Vale, so I wasn't sure what to think of it. But I will say that a solemn atmosphere due to police tape and a crowd of blank faces leads to a somewhat questionable first impression. Ozpin and I got out of the car and he lead me inside.

We were greeted by two police inspectors.

"And where d'ya think yer going, bub? Hmm?" One of them said.

"This is a police matter, y'hear? We don't need no brat getting in our way, so scram!" Said the other.

Before I could think of an impressive witty retort, Ozpin beat me to it.

"This brat is the Vision Huntsman that I have been requested to deliver following the incapabilities of the officers already on the case. Now if you don't mind, we have a job to do: yours."

Wow. Wasn't expecting that kind of wit from him. Ozpin and I walked passed the officers as they frantically looked for ice for their burns, and entered the store.

Back in the Emerald Forest, I came pretty close to death when I nearly had to mercy kill Velvet. It took seeing it in the face for me to realise that I had no idea how far I actually was from the real thing.

In front of me lay a corpse, if I could even call it that any more; his face had practically exploded and there was blood all around. But even more noticeable was the smell; the smell of injury blood and Grimm blood had nothing on the smell of the blood of a decaying corpse. And the worst part? He was a faunus; his retractable claws were sticking out of his fingers. I almost threw up before Ozpin put his hand on my shoulder.

"Are you all right? Do you need to go outside?"

I thought for a minute, before I shook my head.

"No, I just... give me a second."

Upon saying that, I pulled out my sash and tied it around my eyes again; it wouldn't do much good for the smell, but I figured if I examined the scene through my semblance instead of my real eyes it wouldn't seem as real to me.

"Okay, I'm ready." I said.

Through the sash I BLINKED and examined the cadaver. I was right, the sash did help. I was no detective, but I tried to analyse as much as I could from the scene.

From what I could see, there was clear evidence of a struggle; obviously evident from his claws, but further still from where the body was positioned: in front of the counter. If there was no fight, then the same method of killing could've been done with him behind the counter, without him having the chance to resist. I also eliminated the possibility of the killer calling him over from the counter and killing him by one of the stands, as that would indicate that the killer wanted to kill him subtly, when the exploded face would contradict that subtlety.

Looking at the counter, I could see trace evidence of footprints. I think the victim knew there was going to be a fight, and therefore jumped at them from the counter itself. Knowing this, it would make sense for the murder weapon to be the killers primary weapon, as it would be the first one they'd go to in a fight, and would be more likely to have enough overpowered calibre to blow a man's face off.

But wait. That means that the killer acted in self-defence. The victim attacked first, and the killer retaliated by blowing his face off, killing him instantly. And seeing as that is the only wound on the man's body, that proves the theory further. So why did the victim attack? Unless...

"Ozpin." I asked. "Could you ask the officers about the state of the curtains and lights when the body was found? And also, if there's any other light switches in the building?"

"Very well." He said as he walked out.

If I'm right, that may go some way to explaining the motive behind killing him besides self-defence, as well as a reason for the victim to attack. Ozpin came back in.

"They said that all the lights and curtains were down, and the switch by the door was the only one in the building."

Perfect.

"Thank you sir." I said before going back to the case.

That means that the victim had no opportunity to turn the lights off whilst he and the killer were in the room together. Which means that the killer did it; the killer dimmed the curtains and lights to kill him without anyone outside knowing, but the victim saw this coming and fought back, causing the killer to act in self-defence and kill him with his primary weapon. So that confirms that the killer wanted to kill him since before he came in the store, but it doesn't answer why. Did the victim have something that the killer wanted?

I looked around the store to see if there was a trace of anything recently gone missing. All I found was a missing X-ray and Vav comic, stolen quite recently. Probably nothing, but could mean that the killer was childish, or even an actual child, though I shouldn't put much thought into the idea; murder over a comic is hardly a sensible motive, and if it was, the victim could've just let him have it if the killer threatened him. So why did they want to kill him subtly as to-

Wait. There's a contradiction there; if the killer wanted to kill subtly, it would make sense to turn the lights and curtain down. But that alone isn't enough to provoke the victim to attack. And even more confusing, the victim'd be more likely to go investigate what the killer was doing calmly, which would involve walking away from the counter. So the killer turned the lights down, and the victim did nothing? If he did think he was in danger he would've attacked, and if he didn't he would've left the counter to investigate. And I know that he knew he was in danger, so what other factor besides the lights going down would cause him to sense danger? It seems like there's something really obvious I'm missing that someone like Blake would get instant-

Oh. Ooohhhh...

He's a faunus. That could mean that he was a member of the Whitefang, or simply targeted by a racist. If he was a member of the Whitefang, would that make the person who killed him someone who believed they were killing for justice, or just someone who wanted revenge? But when I think of justice killing, the first thing that comes to mind IS the Whitefang. So why would the Whitefang target their own? Unless...

"Ozpin, please ask the officers if Tukson was going anywhere soon; out of town or to another Kingdom."

Ozpin left and then quickly came back in.

"Actually yes; he was planning leaving Vale at the end of the week."

I was right. I think I've figured it out.

Tukson was a defective Whitefang member who tried to leave and flee the Kingdom. As such, an agent was sent to dispose of him for desertion. Upon entering the store, the victim recognised that the killer was there to kill him, and fully aware of the situation did nothing as the killer dimmed the lights. But then, possibly from being provoked or maybe just the will to live kicking in, the victim jumped on the desk and pounced, claws at the ready, but failed in his attempt and was killed. The killer then stole an X-ray and Vav comic and walked out because...reasons.

"Ozpin, I think I've done all I can." I said as I undid my sash.

"Oh?" he asked.

I explained to him and the officers everything I'd determined, and they looked very impressed. Afterwards, Ozpin and I left the crime scene.

"That was some very impressive work today Bruno." He praised. "Tell you what, take the rest of the day off from class and explore Vale for a bit. I assure you it's not as bad as you think."

I was tempted to argue that statement, but there was no way I was going to turn down not going to class. So I accepted the offer.

"Very good." He said. "Just stay out of trouble and get back before curfew."

He then got in the car and drove off, leaving me there.


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

So now I had a free day to do whatever I wanted. Trouble is, I didn't know what I wanted to do. I found myself bored as a board and wandered aimlessly for about an hour before I found myself at the harbour. A ship was just leaving after dropping off some passengers, so in boredom I watched it go. Passengers were walking passed me but I wasn't paying too much attention to them. I considered calling Blake and asking her out, but she was probably still in class, so I decided against it. I was about to leave I heard a confused, panicked voice on the other side of the harbour:

"Wh-what? NO-"

I turned my head to see that the voice came from some blue haired dude who had just been knocked over by a mugger. The mugger ran passed me, but I wasn't in the mood for a fight. So instead, I BLINKED and analysed the exact moment when he'd run passed, and timed it just right so that I took the wallet out of his hand without him seeing. He continued running unaware that he was empty handed.

I then rushed over to the blue haired dude who was picking himself up.

"Are you all right?" I asked as I helped him and gave him his wallet back.

"Thanks." He said. "And I'm fine. Where I come from, you aren't a true member of the community until you've been mugged at least five times."

"Wow. Sounds pretty toxic."

"Can't deny that. Anyway, thanks for getting this back. My name's Neptune Vasilias. You?"

"Bruno Hawke."

We shook hands.

"You a transfer student too?" He asked.

"No, I'm from the school."

"Oh. That's great then; mean's I got a guide!"

"Erm... not sure how I feel about that."

"Dude, don't worry about it, I'm cool. Well, that was obvious the moment you saw me, but you know."

"Yeah, face-planting following a mugging just screams cool around here doesn't it?"

"Yeah, well... I got nothing. Anyway, could you show me where the school is?"

"Suppose I got nothing better to do."

I walked with Neptune towards the school. We were quiet for a minute until he spoke up.

"By the way, you haven't happened to have seen a monkey-faunus by the name of Sun around these parts by any chance, have you?"

"Erm, nope, can't say I have. He your partner?"

"Yeah, and I don't know where he's gone."

"Well, your ship just arrived right? He can't have gotten far."

"Yeah, you'd think, wouldn't you? Besides, Sun wasn't on the ship I was on."

"What? But that's the first ship to deliver the transfer students."

"Yeah, but Sun was just SO excited that he couldn't wait for "us losers" so he stowed away on another boat and got here a day early."

"Wait. So he broke the law, abandoned his team, and went into hiding in a foreign land because he couldn't wait one day?"

"Pretty much."

"Huh. Sounds like a character."

"Oh, he is. No denying that."

While we were chatting, I hadn't realised that we'd walked passed Tukson's Book Trade again, which was something I'm pretty sure I was supposed to keep confidential. Neptune looked at the scene quizzically.

"What's up with that?" he asked.

"Probably a stolen comic or something." In my defence, that wasn't a lie.

"But why would you need so much police tape for a stolen comic?"

"Well, the police are very thorough here." Ironically, considering that I'd just done the police's job for them, that was a lie.

"Fair enough. I suppose we should-"

He was cut off by being slammed into the floor again after being landed on by someone from above.

"Hey, loser! Took you long enough to get here!"

The guy looked back at me. He was blonde with a white shirt, blue jeans-shorts, red bracers and a monkey tail. He then looked back at Neptune, who he was on top of.

"Really Neptune? I'm gone one day and already you cheat on me with another man? How could you betray my love you cruel bastard?"

"MPPH MPPH!" Neptune said with his face pressed against the floor.

The faunus finally got off him and approached me.

"Sun, I presume?" I asked.

"Ah, I see my darling Neptune still can't stop talking about me. And who might you be, who would steal my baby away?"

Neptune then got up.

"Okay, 1) This is Bruno, 2) can you stop with the pet names for just five minutes, it's embarrassing!"

Sun laughed.

"Anyway, it's nice to meet you Bru-"

He was cut off by a police officer.

"Hey! That's the faunus who assaulted me with his banana!"

"Aw, crap. Gotta go, see you later babe!"

Sun then proceeded to climb up a nearby building while the police followed him.

"Sun, god dammit, come back!" Neptune called as he sprinted around the other side of the building.

With no other choice, I followed him.

I found that chasing Sun and Neptune taught me something. Either 1) Everyone's semblance seems to be speed or 2) I need to get better at cardio. It wasn't long until I couldn't see them ahead of me, so I BLINKED and tracked them through there; Sun was still on the roof but Neptune was still on the ground around the corner. I quickly sprinted around all the other pedestrians to catch up with them, but as I turned the corner, Something happened that I'd never done before while using my semblance.

I accidentally ran straight into somebody and we both fell to the ground. I raised my head and saw that, despite them being a person, they weren't omitting an orange glow with my semblance. Instead, it was a faint blue colour, which is why I didn't see them.

I then realised I was still on top of them, so I turned off my semblance and saw that it was a girl with red hair. I got up, and then stretched my hand out to her.

"I am so sorry miss. I should have been watching where I was going. Are you all right?"

She remained on the floor and said

"I'm wonderful. Thank you for asking."

I stretched my hand out further, but she didn't even acknowledge it.

"Excuse me?" I asked. "Would you like me to help you up?"

She paused for a second before saying "I accept your offer of assistance."

She grabbed my hand and I pulled her up, although she kept her body almost completely straight as I pulled her up, as if she was a mannequin. There was something very off about this girl.

"I will never forget your kindness." She said with a smile.

"Um, don't mention it, I suppose."

"My name is Penny. What is your name?"

"Bruno." I responded.

"It is a privilege to meet you Bruno."

She continued to stare at me vacantly with a happy smile. I wasn't sure what to make of it. I decided to check something.

"Penny, could you stand still a moment?"

"Certainly." She replied.

I had promised I'd never use my power to look through a woman's clothes, but I had to know; she could be deathly ill for all I knew. So without further thought, I BLINKED and looked her over thoroughly.

What I found was something I couldn't have even begun to have expected: under her clothes, was sheet metal in place of skin. Within that metal, was a long series of gears and pumps that made up what I assumed to be an artificial organ system. Only it was more than that; aside from her aura (which was the wrong colour) there wasn't a single trace of anything human inside her whatsoever. She was a robot.

"Are you satisfied with what you have found Mr Bruno?" Penny asked.

It took me a minute to process speech through my shock.

"Um, yeah. Thank you Penny."

I genuinely had no clue about what to say to her. With nothing left to say, I just excused myself and left her.

I was about to return to tracking Sun and Neptune, when I heard a ringing from my pocket. It was an incoming call from Blake, which I answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Bruno, where have you been?"

"After Ozpin asked me to do that job he gave me the rest of the day off."

"What was that favour exactly?"

Uh oh. I was pretty sure that I couldn't discuss police matters to the public, not to mention one to do with a murdered Whitefang member, but I love Blake, and can't lie to her.

"Ozpin told me not to discuss it I'm afraid. With anyone."

"Are you in danger?"

"No, and if I was, Ozpin wouldn't be able to stop me from telling you."

"Glad to hear it. Anyway, I just got out of class so meet me in the cafeteria okay?"

"I'll be there."

"Good. I love you."

"Love you too."

I ended the call and made my way back to school. I wasn't sure what to make of that Penny girl, but I decided it was best to just leave it.


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Once I got back I made my way to the cafeteria and opened the door, and the first thing I heard was

"JUSTICE WILL BE SWIFT! JUSTICE WILL BE PAINFUL! IT WILL BE DELICIOOOUUUUSS!"

Before the entire cafeteria erupted with screams and flying food. And it wouldn't be long before I'd get destroyed as well. I BLINKED to find Blake in the crowd, and found her underneath a nearby table. I worked out a pathway through the fighting, narrowly dodging several pies and turkeys and sausages before I dove next to Blake. She saw me and managed to get out

"Hey B-"

Before Ruby sneaked around the corner and smashed her in the face with a cream pie.

"Surprise attack!" Ruby shouted as she pressed it further into her face and then ran off.

Blake pulled it off before turning to scream

"Vengeance will be mine Rose! Just you wait!"

When she turned back to me, her face was still covered in pie, but I could faintly make out her beautiful eyes and smile. And despite the pie, I couldn't help pulling her in and kissing her deeply. It actually tasted quite nice either way. When I finally pulled away, she wiped some more of it off and said

"So, I was hoping to talk under better circumstances but I suppose it can wait until after we're done with this. You ready?"

"Not really."

"That's the spirit!"

Then she dove over the table screaming

"RUBY, WHERE ARE YOU? IT'S TIME TO PICK SOME ROSES!"

She probably needs to work on her battle cry, but the sentiment was there. Besides, seeing her like that; loud, smiling, confident, all without a bow on her head; it was such a welcome sight after seeing how reserved and quiet she used to be. But enough about her; I had a battle to get to. I picked up a straw, loaded it with whatever food I could find, and started blow darting at whoever was unfortunate enough to cross my path.

But in the end, I was the unfortunate one, as the last person to cross my path was Glinda Goodwitch, who quickly reassembled the cafeteria and cleaned up all the food. And she was not happy.

"Children, please." she said through gritted teeth. "Don't play with your food."

We all left the cafeteria in cheers of laughter, and outside were met with congratulations from several transfer students who had spectated the event. Once we were done, my team and I returned to our dorm in laughter and joy without a care in the world, despite being still covered in food. And after the stress of that murder investigation I couldn't be happier.

Once Blake and I had showered we headed back downstairs to the common room while Jaune and Ruby remained in the dorm. We found Weiss and Velvet sitting together on the sofa, so we sat with them and watched the news. I should have seen it coming I suppose, but I'd completely forgot about it until the news caster said

"In other news, more developments on the murder of the owner of Tukson's Book Trade, known only as Tukson."

At "Tukson" Blake snapped to it's attention and turned it up. I was sure that they wouldn't release that much information until it could be verified however.

"Recent investigation has confirmed that Tukson was murdered as a result of his affiliation with the Whitefang; the man had attempted to desert and flee Vale, but was intercepted by a Whitefang agent in his store. The victim attacked but was murdered by the agent in self-defence."

Oh no. What are they doing? Even if I was right that's not something that they should just release to the public!

"Unconfirmed sources also reveal that Professor Ozpin of Beacon, as well as a novice huntsman in training, had some part in investigating the scene, as well as identifying that the incident was Whitefang-related. Further developments follow."

...did they just? They didn't did they? Apparently they did, as I could feel Blake looking right at me, no doubt with a look of anger. I met her gaze and found that I was wrong; it was a look of fear. Without another word, she ran out of the room, and followed quickly after.

I found her outside, staring at the statue in front of the school. I slowly approached her. She heard me coming and turned, a look of fear on her face.

"Bruno." She said. "I'm...I'm in danger."

Without another word, I pulled out a black sash from my pocket, and handed it to her. With a blank expression, she tied it in a bow around her ears.


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

The next day I walked into Ozpin's office per his request. When I entered, I found him arguing with a news reporter and one of the inspectors at the crime scene.

"Do you people know NOTHING about how to cover a story?!" Ozpin shouted. "What idiot reveals everything the police have found out as soon as it comes up? Not to mention how you painted myself and the entirety of Beacon as a target!"

He saw me come in.

"And here he is now."

Before either inspector or reporter could approach me, Ozpin stepped in.

"No. He is none of your concern; you don't talk to him, you don't interview him, you don't even acknowledge him. He, along with every other student in my school, is off limits to you. Now get out of my office, before you ruin things even further."

Without another word, the two obeyed and left me alone with Ozpin, who sat back in his chair.

"Sorry about that Bruno; you'd think the police would be the ones who understood police discretion better than anyone."

"You wanted to see me sir?"

"Yes, please have a seat."

I sat in the chair in front of his desk.

"I brought you here, first and foremost, to apologise. I shouldn't have put you through that and now this has happened. I'm deeply sorry."

"No one can predict the idiocy of the press sir." I said.

"That's true. The other thing I want to talk to you about is that very issue. I'm asking that, for your own safety, you refrain from involving yourself further; you got lucky with that story since your name was not revealed, but mine was. It means I've become a threat to the Whitefang, and may be targeted. To ensure that the same doesn't happen to you, I ask that you leave the matter to us, and continue on with your school life."

I understood his sentiment, but as I said earlier, there's something that overrides his orders.

"Sir, I appreciate the warning. But I can't do that."

Ozpin looked at his mug before looking back at me again.

"It would be safer for her as well."

...come again?

"For who?"

"Your girlfriend. I'm well aware of her old affiliation, even if she hasn't told me herself. I know you want to protect her, but if they find you, they'll find her too."

He rose from his chair.

"You'll be glad to know that an old friend of mine is visiting, and with him is a fleet and an army ready to protect us. We won't let them get anywhere near you."

Yep. Ozpin was still annoying. Still, I understood what he was trying to do, and I couldn't fault him for that. Reluctantly, I agreed, and left the office.


	23. Chapter 22

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

About two weeks passed with me doing exactly what Ozpin said and laying low. I explained everything to Blake and, even though she was reluctant, she didn't get involved either.

It also turned out that Ozpin wasn't kidding about him having a friend who had a fleet with him; over the course of two weeks, the school began to look more like a military base. Still felt like a school though, which was good to an extent. And I'd almost forgotten about the whole thing until one day.

We were spectating a sparing match between team CRDL and Pyrrha and enjoying team CRDL lose tremendously. Once they were thoroughly beaten, Goodwitch asked for another volunteer to fight Pyrrha. I was too tired, as was Blake and most of the other students, but one voice disagreed.

"I volunteer." I heard from behind me.

"Very well." said Glinda.

The volunteer made his way to the stage. He had silver hair, a silver shirt, and black trousers. I believe his name was Mercury, a transfer student. I'd seen him with two girls named Cinder and Emerald a lot, but I'd never spoken to them.

The fight started. Pyrrha charged and the two began. I quickly found out that Mercury's weapon was a pair of steel boots with guns attached, and he was furious in their use. The fight was pretty evenly matched, but then something happened which caught my eye.

At one point Pyrrha jumped in the air to strike, but as she did, Mercury kicked and fired a bullet. Pyrrha blocked it with her shield, but she was launched to the other end of the room. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something seemed odd about it.

Nevertheless, Pyrrha charged at him once more, but before she reached him, he surrendered, much to everyone's confusion. He claimed that he was clearly no match for her, and then Goodwitch let him sit back down.

Afterwards, Jaune, who had been paying close attention, wouldn't shut up about it.

"And did you see the way she almost stabbed him? Or the way he nearly disarmed her?"

I was only half listening until he said

"Or what about that mid-air kick that sent Pyrrha flying? If it weren't for her shield I'm pretty sure her head would've come off!"

I stopped. I didn't think it could be, but after Jaune said that, the possibility became clearer. But at the same time, I promised Ozpin I wouldn't. Besides, I wouldn't want to incriminate someone on speculation.

We went to lunch after, but try as I might, I couldn't get it out of my head. I could see him at the other end of the cafeteria with those girls again, eating in silence. I knew I should just do nothing. But I had to know for sure.

But I was brought back to the real world by a loud bang at our table; Ruby had recently brought some bang snaps and was throwing them on the ground with glee, much to the annoyance of everyone.

But the sight of Ruby reminded me of something; something she said a while ago after a feeling of shock and realisation, something that would only be said by someone who... it was a long shot. But if my theory's correct, I can get even more evidence against him; at least enough to justify an investigation.

"Ruby, could I have one of those?" I asked.

"Sure." And she gave me one.

I then BLINKED and aimed for a specific spot directly behind Mercury, so to guarantee that he would hear it. When I was ready, I pulled my arm back, and threw it. It soared through the air, missing every other student exactly as I'd aimed, until it finally hit the wall directly behind Mercury. In panic, he jumped, turned around, and said the exact words I was hoping he'd say.

"SMEG POT!"

I was right. I quickly put my head down as to not arouse suspicion to myself, although it didn't help that everyone on my table saw me do it. Despite that, Mercury dismissed it as nothing and went back to talking to his friends, unaware that he'd just been exposed by the heroic duo X-ray and Vav.

Afterwards, I went straight to the dorm and put a sash around my head. I then BLINKED and looked for Mercury; I had to know if anyone's in danger because of him.

From the comfort of my bed, I scanned the entire school until I could see anything resembling the guy. Sure enough, I found him in a dorm with his two friends, both of whom were casually chatting. Unfortunately, I didn't have super hearing, so I couldn't work out one way or the other what they were talking about. Neither Mercury nor Emerald were doing anything suspicious looking as far as I could tell, but Cinder was looking at her tablet very extensively. I checked it out and found something horrifying.

First it was a picture of Pyrrha, and next to it was written her name, as well as the words "Semblance: Polarity", and "Affiliation: Beacon" . Were they observing her for something? But underneath that were the words "Termination: Unnecessary." Termination? What did they mean by that?

She scrolled to the next image and it not only answered my question, but confirmed everything I was afraid of. It was Tuckson, the murder victim. Next to him was his name as well as the words "Semblance: Unknown" and "Affiliation: Whitefang (former, defective)", and underneath that was the words "Termination: Complete." I was right about everything. These three, whoever they are, murdered Tukson because he defected from the Whitefang. They were dangerous, cold, and unforgiving, and I wanted no more than to just get them away from me. The image had put me in such a state of shock and fear that I almost passed out and fell off the bed, but then, as if taunting me, the third image appeared.

Blake Belladonna. Semblance: Shadow. Affiliation: Whitefang (former, defective) Termination: High Priority.

No. No. No, no no nononono NO! Her image was staring me in the face, and I could feel it begging me to help her. My horror and shock had completely broke me, and I just sat there in comatose fear, barely being able to breath. And then they added insult to injury.

They scrolled through more images; Ruby, Weiss, Jaune, Ren, Velvet, Yang, Cardin, Ozpin, everyone who I'd ever come into contact with since I came to this school.

Except one name. One name was missing from the list. And when I noticed that, I realised something that happened to people when they break. When a person becomes so scared, so anxious, so shocked, in so much pain that the can't even breath, then something happens to them:

They get angry.

I removed the sash from my head, and went into Ruby's drawer. I found it, wrote the missing name on it, and picked it up. Then I left my dorm. I ignored everyone around me and walked straight to the dorm of the murderers, I could see them on the other side of the wall as I approached their door. They were still talking as I reached the door.

I knocked five times. I could see them look puzzled as they tried to work out who it could be. Then I saw Emerald approach the door and open it with an awkward smile, while Mercury and Cinder stared with curious observance.

"Um, hi. Can we help you?" Emerald asked.

I said nothing for about five seconds, to make them nervous. Then from behind my back, I pulled out the X-ray and Vav comic I'd taken from Ruby, and dropped it on the floor in front of Emerald. I then said, in a monotonous voice

"Add that name to your list. And Tukson's Book Trade sends its regards."

Then without another word, I walked silently back to my dorm. When inside I checked my semblance once again to look at them. Sure enough, they were all shocked and panicked as Emerald picked up the comic. They started shouting at each other as they struggled to comprehend their situation. But then, after all the fighting, Cinder finally put down the missing name.

Bruno Hawke. Semblance: Unknown. Affiliation: Unknown. Termination: Priority One.

Come and get me.


	24. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty Three

"You did what?!" Ozpin yelled, slamming hands on his desk.

"I had to, they were targeting everyone, including you!" I replied, calmly through gritted teeth.

Ozpin gripped the bridge of his nose. "So you thought that the smart idea would be put yourself at the highest mark on their list? All it means is that they'll kill you first!"

I'd gone to Ozpin's office as soon as I woke up the next morning to tell him everything I found out. I'd considered telling Blake, but I didn't yet; she was already stressed out by the death of Tukson and is only now beginning to put this business out of her mind. But I couldn't do that anymore. Not until the three of them were dead or gone.

Ozpin sat back in his chair and sighed.

"What were their names again?" Ozpin asked, picking up a pen.

"Mercury Black, Emerald Sustrai, and Cinder Fall."

"And their disguised as transfer students at this school?"

"Yes."

Ozpin wrote down all three names on a piece of paper on his desk, mumbling something about firing the guy in charge of student background checks.

"I need to get this to the police." Ozpin said, rising.

"Wait." I said, rising as well. "We can't."

"This isn't a game Bruno. People's lives are at risk, and we don't have time to waste any more."

"This isn't about that. You saw what happened with Tukson's murder, the police and press gave away everything. They already know that Beacon is a target from just your name alone, so what do you think is going to happen when you reveal _their _names to the police? Not to mention how they'll run away if we even so much as question them without any clear evidence."

"Bruno, are you listening? We don't have any other alternative here. What else can we do?"

I said nothing but shot him a look. Ozpin realised what I was implying.

"No. Absolutely not."

"Why not? I'm already priority one on their hit list, what's the harm in letting me investigate?"

"The harm in letting you investigate is _because _you're priority one. You made their list using a comic book and some words, what do you think they're going to do to you if you actually interfere directly with their plans?"

"I don't have to. I can use my semblance; they don't know what it is yet."

Ozpin sighed again. "Do you not realise what that means?"

"What?" I asked, unsure where he was going.

"It means that, whenever they're around, you _can't _use your semblance. Not in training, not in class, nowhere in the same room as them."

...it hit me. He was 100% right. That "unknown" in their semblance box was the biggest advantage I had over them. If they saw me using my semblance at any point, then that goes away.

"Now do you see what the problem is?" He asked. "Now you need to lay low, difficult as that may be. I have to do some investigation into how they got into the school. That will be all."

Realising that arguing any further would be pointless, I obeyed and walked out of his office.

When I arrived at the dorm, Blake was waiting on the other side.

"Where were you?" She asked as I threw myself on the bed.

"Talking to Professor Ozpin about something."

"About what?" she moved closer. "Tukson?"

"No." I said abruptly. "And don't talk about that anymore."

"Tukson was my friend!" She snapped angrily, turning. "I'll talk about him all I want."

I reached out for her. "No, that's not...I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

"Then what do you mean? You made me promise to tell you if I was in any danger, why can't you do the same?"

I didn't know how to respond. She was right, it would be hypocritical to not tell her that I was in danger. But she was on that list too; and at "High Priority" at that. No. I can't put her through more than she's already in.

I said nothing. Without a word, she walked out and slammed the door. It hurt to watch her go, but I was pretty sure she'd be angrier with me if we both died.

Class that day was, to say the least, stressful. I had to deal with the passive aggressive cold shoulder of my girlfriend the entire time, and on top of that had to deal with suspicious glares from the three liars who were getting ready to target me, and on top of _that _I couldn't use my semblance to do anything, much less spy on those three.

Training however, was the worst. I had a one on one against some guy named Yatsuhashi who was, to say the least, big. Not only could I not use my semblance against him, but Cardin took Tranquil from me before I got on stage again. Needless to say, the battle wasn't about winning or losing as much as it was about trying to save as much of my pride as possible. The answer: not much. And to make matters worse was that while the medical staff were treating me, Cardin walked off with Tranquil.

Afterwards I walked into the cafeteria (I say "walked", more like hobbled) and sat at the first empty table I could find. Usually I'd use my semblance to find my team and sit with them, but with that not being an option, I did not.

And honestly, I didn't want to. After my beating and Blake hating me, sitting with my team would just be all kinds of awkward that I didn't want to deal with. I just looked down and ate my food in peace.

That is, until I looked up and saw Jaune and team CRDL chatting like they were buddies. And they weren't even doing the over exaggerated friendliness thing that bullies do with their victims when a teacher walks by. This almost looked genuine. Had I had any mental stability left I'd have used the scene in front of me to initiate a feeling of anger, but I just stayed seated.

After food however, Jaune came right up to me. And more than that, he handed me Tranquil.

"Here you go buddy." He said with a smile. "Sorry I couldn't get it sooner but Cardin's pockets were just filled with so much other stuff. Speaking of which..."

He pulled out 20 lien and handed it to me. I struggled to process what was going on as I took the money.

"Wh-what? How did you...?" I asked.

"It's a trick I picked up from watching that girl Emerald; she hangs around those three all day and treats them like best friends, but when they aren't looking she takes everything from their pockets."

"uhh..." I was still struggling with the situation.

"The secret I find? Act like you belong. Because I acted all buddy buddy to Cardin he didn't have the foggiest idea what I was doing. And as a result, there's your knife!"

"Thanks." I managed to process.

"Anyway, it's getting late, so I'm heading back to our dorm. You coming?"

I couldn't. Not with Blake as she is.

"No, not tonight. I'll sleep on the roof again."

"Are you sure? It's getting colder."

"I'll be fine."

"Bruno, is this about Blake?"

"I said I'll be fine."

I wasn't fine. As soon as I stepped outside several shivers went shooting up my spine. Ironic, I spent seventeen years getting used to the cold and lost all of it within a month of central heating. Still, I didn't have a choice.

I placed my hand on the wall, and was about to begin my ascent, when I saw in the reflection of the window.

Mercury, Cinder and Emerald.

I froze, and not just due to the cold. I had to analyse a way out of... no, I couldn't. If I used my semblance then the only way out would be to kill them or be killed. I could talk? No, that wouldn't work; talking to murderers is a bit of a step up from talking to girls.

They stepped closer. I stayed right where I was, suppressing all shivering or shuddering despite the cold, and made it look as though I didn't know they were there. I could smash the window? Oh yeah, that's a _great _way to avoid suspicion you moron.

Then I looked back at the window, and saw that as they took another step, Blake was behind them, armed and ready to kill. I stared frozen at her reflection, wondering what she was doing. I did all I could to keep her out of this, and there she was.

Dammit! I did everything to keep her from danger, even if it made her resent me. I tried all I could to keep her out of their minds, and yet there she was, ready to get right back at the top of their list.

They stepped closer, and I prayed for a miracle. Blake was getting ready to attack. Should I use my semblance? No, you can't god dammit! It won't help anything. _Dammit_. DAMMIT!

Why? Why is it that I'm blessed with the ability to see everything, _except _the future? If I'd just had a little bit of hindsight to think through a plan, I'd be able to prevent this from happening. And yet everything I do is based off what could only be described as heightened impulse. Impulse isn't enough for this.

"Excuse me." Mercury said blankly.

Impulse was never enough; not to fight, not to lead, not to protect. Maybe it would be better for everyone if they did kill me. After all, I don't belong here. I don't belong here. I don't belong. Belong. Belong. _Belong! _

"The secret I find? Act like you belong."

_Thank you Jaune._

I took my hand away from the wall and turned to face them, who were closer than I'd have liked. Blake was about ready strike until I'd turned.

"Oh, hey guys." I said casually. "What's up?"

From their faces, I could tell that they hadn't expected this response. I raised one eyebrow twice slightly to signal to Blake. She got it fortunately, and sneaked away. The three had no idea she was there.

"Oh, I know what this is about." I said. "It's the comic right? Sorry, I saw you reading it the other day and thought I'd give you next issue. Although in hindsight, the middle of the night probably wasn't the best time to give it to you. Sorry about that."

They still tried to work out what to do. Finally Mercury spoke up.

"What did you say about a list? Or Tukson's Book Trade?"

They're buying it. Great.

"...you don't keep a list of your comics? Then how do you know if one of them gets stolen? Personally I also like to write my name on it in big letters, and give a reference to where I purchased it from. I mean, you aren't going to forget the person who gives that much detail right?"

Mercury gave a look as if he was buying the whole thing, Emerald and Cinder seemed neutral about it. Which is what I expected.

"Speaking of names, I never actually properly introduced myself, due once again to my poor planning abilities."

I stretched out a hand to them.

"Bruno Hawke. Pleasure to welcome you to Beacon."

In turn, albeit reluctantly, they all shook my hand and introduced themselves as well.

"So is there anything else?" I asked.

They thought for a minute.

"No." Cinder said. "We have what we need."

What?

"I'm sorry?" I asked.

"Oh nothing." Emerald said. "It's just that when you mentioned "Tukson's Book Trade" we had to see what it was about. After seeing it on the news at the school we were shaken up, so we wanted to see what you meant by that as well."

"Oh. Fair enough. Anyway, I'll see you later then."

The three of them walked away. When they were out of sight, I sighed heavily with relief and fell against the wall in a slump. But then I looked to my left and saw Blake emerge from the shadows, with a blank expression on their face. She approached me and I got up. When she reached me, she said nothing. I wasn't doing this again though.

"Cinder Fall, Mercury Black, Emerald Sustrai." I said, quietly. "That was their names. They're agents working with the Whitefang who infiltrated the school. They're the ones who murdered Tukson. But more than that, they've been observing everyone in the school and deciding whether or not to kill them. You were listed as High Priority, probably because you left the Whitefang like Tukson did. They're extremely dangerous. Do not provoke them."

She said nothing. She looked as if she hadn't heard a single word I'd said. She just turned and walked back inside. I climbed on the roof and slept in the cold once again.


	25. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty Four

After the night I'd just had, I was glad (albeit surprised) to say that I woke up the next morning on the roof. I still wasn't sure exactly how things were going to go from then on, but at that moment, I didn't care...

...The NEXT moment however, I realised a problem with my plan: what it implied.

I barely got away with telling them that I was giving Mercury the next issue with a reference and a list and all that, but they believed me nonetheless. Which means that the lie goes out the window once they realised that I don't HAVE references or lists. I've never been particularly organised with my stuff, because I never needed to be; if something of mine went missing then finding it was never a problem for me. But seeing as that wasn't an option anymore, I didn't have a choice.

But how would I do it? I certainly couldn't do it overnight, but if I don't, then it's only a matter of time until those three figure me out. There's only one way I could do it: I'd need expert help.

"I'm sorry, what?" Weiss asked in response to my request.

"Please Weiss, I really need your help."

I'd been pleading with her since I found her eating her breakfast in the cafeteria. I'd refrained from telling her why exactly as to not endanger her further, but I pleaded nonetheless.

"Yeah, I get that you need my help but...why all of a sudden? You've been team JBBR's leader for this long already and you've never had need to be organised before. Either you're doing fine as you are or you should've asked me a while ago."

"I can't explain why. But it's REALLY important."

She sighed.

"Bruno, I don't know...I mean, I've got my own team to take care of, I'm supposed to go out with Velvet next week, and on top of homework and class I just won't have time...I'm sorry."

"No, it-it's fine." I said, even though it wasn't. "I'll...I'll figure something out. Sorry for bothering you."

I got up to leave, but then Weiss said:

"Bruno, wait."

I turned to her.

"What's going on? First you're dragged off who-knows-where with Ozpin, then Blake puts her bow back on and now you're pleading with me to help you get organised? Something's up. What is it? Is it your team?"

"No, my team's fine...I think. And everything else, well..."

"Well, what?"

I didn't want to tell her, but I needed her help.

"Well, it's-"

"Hey Weiss!" I heard from Velvet as she approached.

"Hey Velvet." Weiss responded with a smile as Velvet sat next to her and kissed her on the cheek. Velvet then turned to me.

"Hey Bruno, what's up?"

"Oh, it's-it's nothing." I told her.

"What's going on?" she asked, a tinge of concern on her face.

"Bruno wants me to help him become more organised but won't tell me why." Weiss responded.

"And so you won't help him because of that?"

"No, it's not that. I don't have time."

"Then we can cancel our dates for a while."

I stepped in on that.

"Hold on Velvet, it's okay. I don't want my problems to disrupt your plans."

"Well, if it wasn't for you, there wouldn't even be any plans for us to cancel. Just think of it as a thank you."

Weiss stepped in.

"Velvet, come on."

"Weiss, you owe him too. I never would've confessed had it not been for him. And don't worry about our plans, we can make more, okay?"

Weiss was quiet for a moment, contemplating her decision. Finally her eyes shot up and glared at me.

"If we're going to do this, then we're going to commit. If you half-ass this, or waste my time in any way, then you'll receive a beating ten times worse than you did the other day with Yatsuhashi. Got it?"

"Understood. I promise I won't let you down."

I let her down. Or at the very least, she was unimpressed no matter how much I tried, and we tried everything. We started with taking inventory of stuff, writing down things in a calendar, organising school files into binders, all that and more. And while that may not seem that stressful, it was. Weiss has ways, man...

"...HAWKE! How in the HELL are you going to remember a date that you CAN'T EVEN READ?!"

"Well, I'm sorry, my handwriting's not amazing..."

"Not amazing?! I could write it backwards, upside down, cursive, in text speak, AND with a white pen, and I'd still be able to write the words 'BRUNO IS A FAILURE!' more clearly than how you wrote that date! WRITE IT OUT AGAIN SIXTY TIMES!"

"Y-yes ma'am..."

"...Oh, what the HELL IS THIS! Why is this document on "Faunus Social History" in the "Faunus Political History" slot on your folder? Why even bother HAVING a folder, why not just scrunch up all your notes and throw them under your bed?"

"What? They're pretty much the same..."

"HOW DARE YOU! The Faunus are people like you and me, don't you DARE bring that racism in here-"

"I meant the topics-"

"DON'T TALK BACK TO ME! Now take this all out of the Subject Folder and rearrange it in the Alphabetical Folder, DOUBLE TIME!"

"Immediately Miss Schnee..."

"...BRUNO! WHERE'S MY DRY CLEANING?!"

"It's right here. But what does this have to do with-"

"DON'T QUESTION MY METHODS! Now call and make dinner reservations for me and Velvet for Sunday at 8:36pm, NOW!"

"Yes, r-right away..."

"...Phew...Well Bruno, I think I can consider this a successful first lesson, wouldn't you agree?"

"...Kill me..."

"Wonderful. Same time tomorrow then?"

She has ways...

After dragging myself out of Weiss' room, I slowly stumbled down to get some fresh air, while weighing up the pros and cons of Weiss' training versus being killed by those three. It came to a tie.

But as I was walking outside, I approached the common room. In there, I saw the TV; it wasn't turned on, but I saw it.

And it reminded me of something. Something that was said to me yesterday which, now thinking about it, doesn't quite add up. It was the last thing Emerald said before leaving:

"It's just that when you mentioned "Tukson's Book Trade" we had to see what it was about. After seeing it on the news at the school we were shaken up, so we wanted to see what you meant by that as well."

I mean, it's probably nothing; they're better liars than I am, after all. But if they weren't, then...

"...seeing it on the news at the school..."

If they saw it at the school, does that imply that they'd infiltrated this school BEFORE they realised Beacon was investigating the murder? I'd just assumed that that was why they were here. But on the off-chance that that wasn't the case...

...then what are they doing here?


	26. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty Five

A while ago I stated that I wasn't sure whether getting up early or running late was more tiring. But it turns out there's an option which trumps both: getting everyone else up early.

Weiss had told me that being organised meant ensuring that both myself and my team were as organised as they could be. Though I'm not sure my efforts are as appreciated by the rest of the team.

"zzz...noooo...zzz" Ruby moaned as I tried to rustle her out of bed.

"Come on Ruby, we have to get up." I said as she continued to ignore me.

"...why? What's so important about today?"

"Well, they're serving cookies at the cafeteria for breakfast."

Ruby's eyes shot open and she leapt out of bed.

"Really?" she gasped, her eyes gleaming with joy.

"No, but now that you're up, you can get ready." It turns out that Weiss's cruelty had rubbed off on me.

"How can you be so helplessly cruel?" she sobbed with crushed eyes.

"We're all in the same boat here Ruby." Jaune said as he was preparing his bag. "Except Blake apparently."

"I already told you, Blake got up early to do an errand for me."

I say an errand but it was actually just to tell Ozpin about all of my findings; I figured that if I went to him straight after my confrontation with those three it would arouse suspicion, but if someone else went and then Ozpin called for me, then it wouldn't arouse as much. And for the same reasoning behind not arousing suspicion, the rest of my team is still in the dark about the whole thing. Eventually I would tell them, but for now, the less people involved the better.

I didn't tell Blake about my theory that those three may be here for something other than finding those related to Tukson's murder; it was still just a theory, and I had zero evidence to back it up. It would be better if I told Ozpin in person.

Once we were all ready, we went to get breakfast, though the lack of cookies being served lead to me receiving a resentful glare by Ruby the entire time. We sat with team RWNS and, to my surprise, Weiss seemed impressed with my work.

"Nice job Bruno," she said, "At breakfast by 7:30, 3 out of 4 team-mates present, and no one missing any necessary attire."

"I told you that that was a _one time thing_!" Jaune objected.

"One time thing or not, I still can't comprehend how you managed to mix your uniform, combat gear, AND pajamas, and still manage to forget pants." I pointed out.

Jaune struggled with a response, shrugged, and then quietly ate his meal.

When we were all done, I got a message from Blake telling me to meet Ozpin in his office. I left my team and went straight there.

Blake was outside the door when I arrived. She looked emotionless.

"Hey." I said.

"I told him everything." She responded bluntly. "He wasn't happy that you told me."

"Well, I've said before that you take priority over his demands."

"Let's hope that excuse will work with him. Anyway, once you're done, meet with me. I need your help with something."

"Sure, see you then."

She walked away. I stopped her.

"Hey, are you all right?" I asked.

"A colleague of mine is dead, the ones who murdered him are right under our noses, and my boyfriend's trying to handle it all on his own. What do you think?"

"...yeah, it was a stupid question. I'm sorry. And I won't keep you in the dark about it any more. Promise."

She was quiet for a minute. Then she kissed me on the cheek.

"Thank you." she said quietly, with a small smile.

"Not at all. I love you."

"I love you too. Goodbye."

She walked away. I entered Ozpin's office and found him sat in his chair, looking down. I knew that that meant he was angry. He looked up and his face confirmed it.

"You had one job: keep quiet."

He rose from his seat.

"So would you kindly explain why your girlfriend knows everything about the situation, and why she was the one who told me to summon you?"

I clenched my fist. I was really tired of him criticising me at every turn.

"I was confronted by the three of them. Before I had even told her, Blake was there in the shadows ready to defend me. Had I not lied my way out, she'd have attacked. At that point, not only was there no way I'd be able to shake it off as nothing, but I thought she deserved to know."

I breathed in then out. I wasn't done.

"But even then, so what if she knows? She was a High Priority on their list, I couldn't just keep her in the dark for something like that. And her safety is way more important than your orders."

He shot me a look at that. I didn't flinch, I just glared back. He approached me.

"Well...I am the one who told you that it was important to be honest. Fine, I'll let it slide for now. However, while Blake's safety may be your top concern, understand that my orders are a very close second. And if it doesn't involve Blake, you obey. No questions."

"Fine."

"Now, you used her to arranged this meeting, so what do you want?"

"There's something I realised about their presence at the school."

"You think that they aren't here specifically to find you or Blake, right?"

I hadn't expected him to know that.

"How..."

"You aren't the only one who's observant Bruno. You think that they were at the school before they realised that Beacon was investigating Tukson's murder. So now you're asking yourself what they're actually doing here. Am I correct?"

Prick.

"Yes that's correct." I said. "Wait, does that mean you know what they're doing here?"

"Not a clue. But seeing as you're so intent on involving yourself as much as you possibly can under the pretext of protecting your girlfriend, I'll find a way for you to help. When I've thought of something I'll call for you."

He sat back down.

"That'll be all."

I turned to leave.

"Oh, and Bruno?"

I stopped. I knew he was going to say something along the lines of 'Stay out of trouble,' but I waited anyway.

"I'm not going to tell you to stay out of trouble, because I know you won't."

...Did I say that out loud? He continued.

"But at the very least, try to minimise the damage."

I guess he was tired of fighting as well. I walked out and went to find Blake.

She was outside in the courtyard, under a tree.

"Hi." I said as I approached. "What did you want to talk about?"

She looked around in case anyone was listening in. She then looked at me.

"I might have a lead on something."

"Oh?"

"I overheard one of the transfer students talking about a boat carrying a lot of Dust. Apparently the crate holding it has just been sitting the docks for a while. I want to check it out."

"I'm sorry, I don't follow. Why?"

"Haven't you heard about the recent Dust robberies that have been popping up?"

"No."

That was true; on the mountain I picked up the habit of not caring about events that went on outside the mountain. Blake explained.

"Well, here's the abridged version: Someone's stealing Dust; no one knows who's behind it, but it's happening. I figure that a crate that's been idle for that long is ripe for the picking for whichever group is after it."

"So you want to investigate a crate on the off-chance that someone may come and take it?"

"It doesn't matter. Are you going to help or not?"

I smiled.

"Instead of idling around in a school being watched by Ozpin, three murderers, and Weiss, all while unable to use my semblance, I get to sit around and do nothing until I get to stop bad guys from stealing stuff, all with the woman I love? Yeah, I'm in."

"Good. Gather your weapon and ammo, and meet me back here. We leave in an hour."

She walked away.


	27. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty Six

I went straight to my room after that to gather what Blake told me to. Tranquil was in my drawer so I picked it up, and with it I picked up about three sashes; I'd found that having them on me was never not useful.

Once I'd given the rest of my team an excuse as to where I was going, I met Blake back at the tree. As I approached, she looked at me quizzically.

"I didn't say before, but what the hell are you wearing?"

It's true; since Weiss took me under her wing, my attire had drastically improved (in a manner of speaking). My jacket was now buttoned up, my sleeves were rolled up, my shoes were polished, and my hair was no longer a mess. Along with that, I always carried things that an organised person would carry: several pens and pencils, hands-free phones for myself and my team, and I recently purchased a hybrid watch (digital and analogue). In short, I looked like a nerd.

"Umm..." I replied.

"Just forget it. We need to go."

She began to walk, and I followed.

We were silent on the walk over, until I spoke up about halfway through town.

"So what's the plan if we find anyone?"

"Investigate."

I looked at her.

"Blake, if that was all we were doing, I wouldn't have brought my weapon."

She stopped and looked back.

"Defence in case something goes wrong then, what else? And moreover, why does it matter?"

"It matters because, from the way you've been acting all day, you aren't in a 'defending' mood. Something else is up, isn't it?"

She glared at me for a moment. Then she sighed in frustration and responded.

"The guy I overheard mentioned that the most likely suspects were the Whitefang."

"What?"

"Look, I already said it doesn't matter. It's still something we need to investigate, isn't it?"

"Blake..."

"What? Am I wrong?"

"No, what you said is correct. But that isn't the reason you're going, is it?"

"Bruno, for the last time, it doesn't matter. Are you with me or not?"

I sighed. There was no arguing with her.

"Yeah... yeah I'm with you."

She kept walking in silence.

When we arrived at the dock, I BLINKED and located the crate. It was in the middle of the dock, on the top of another big pile of crates. I looked for a suitable vantage point where we could watch from, and we made our way up there.

And we waited in silence. And waited. And waited. It was nightfall until anything broke the silence, which was my stomach growling. Blake shot me a look when it happened.

"Sorry." I said.

She just went back to looking at the crate.

"You know, we never discussed what our plan of action was if someone turned up."

"I told you, inve-"

"Yeah, you said 'investigate', but that doesn't mean anything."

"Just...watch them then."

"You have no idea, do you?"

She looked at me angrily.

"Do you? Do you ever know what you're doing? You have the ability to make plans in the moment and you always get out fine. What's wrong with me doing the same thing?"

"Do you hear yourself? You know full well that it's not a good thing that I do that, and you're using me as an example to justify using it yourself? Blake, don't lie to yourself. Please."

"Lie to myself? What the hell are you talking ab-"

She was cut off by the sound of several airships coming into land. When they landed, the door opened and several soldiers walked out, all with a wolf symbol on their backs.

The Whitefang. Blake was right.

And once they were all out, someone else emerged; A tall ginger man in a white jacket and black hat. He held a cane in his hand which I could see doubled as his primary weapon. He was ordering the soldiers around.

At the sight of them, Blake went dark with rage. She said nothing, but instead got up, unsheathed Gambol Shroud, and jumped down. I followed after her in panic, trying to stop her before she did anything reckless. I found her hiding behind a box, about to jump out at the ginger man. I caught her before it happened, and she turned furiously.

"Blake!" I snapped in a hushed tone. "What are you doing?"

"What's it look like?"

She turned back, and was about to jump out. That was the limit. I grabbed her, yanked her back, and pushed her against the wall. Before she could even begin to resist, I spoke.

"Enough. Blake, you're only doing this for revenge."

She snarled resentfully at me.

"That's not tru-"

"Don't even try. As soon as you saw them you rushed out to kill. What did you plan on doing after you killed the ginger guy? Look at yourself Blake!"

She continued to glare at me, stone cold and hatefully. But then, her glare started to falter and shake.

"They...they murdered Tukson. I have... I have to do this."

Finally. She admitted it.

"I understand. And I want to help, but-"

"Hey! What the hell are you two doing?"

I looked to the source of the voice. One of the soldiers spotted us and was approaching. I was so wrapped up in talking to Blake that I hadn't seen him approach. I looked back at Blake, and saw that she still had that hateful look about her. I knew what she was about to do.

It was fast. Too fast. One minute I was looking into my girlfriend's hateful, vengeful eyes, trying to think of some way to calm her down, and the next, I was on my knees, my head rattling while the ginger guy was stood in front of me, with several soldiers surrounding me, guns at my head. I could vaguely hear the soldier we were with talking to the ginger guy.

"...found him and some girl behind the...abandoned him and ran off...tracking her as we speak..."

My head was then pulled upwards, so I was staring right into the ginger guys eyes. He smiled crookedly.

"Man, they really did a number on your face kid. Doubt your own mother'd even recognise you. Name's Roman Torchwick, and these animals are soldiers of the Whitefang. And you are?"

I said nothing, both out of defiance and weakness. Roman chuckled.

"Oh don't worry about it. I understand how you feel; you think you've found someone, who you can love, cherish, protect, and then they leave you for dead and run off. We've all been there my friend."

What was he talking about? Blake would never...would she? No...no, she couldn't have; she was the one who wanted revenge, so why would she abandon me? That...that doesn't make sense. It doesn't...

It didn't matter. The fact was that I was alone, beaten up, and surrounded. I was broken. But I'd been broken before, and I knew what do.

My head was still rattled, but I tried to look up at Torchwick, who was still smiling cockily. I BLINKED and looked for some way, any way, for me to get out. And I found one. I could see it right on the end of Torchwick's cane. I knew that the solution to my problem was on the end of his cane, and I waited for the right time to strike and...

It hit me in the face. Roman hit me right in the jaw with the end of his cane and my head smacked against the ground in a loud thump. I heard orders being echoed from Torchwick.

"...eyes were glowing bright...must be his semblance, he... shoot lasers from his eyes...blindfold him, before he..."

As he said that, a blindfold came over my face, and for the first time, due to my haziness and confusion, it actually worked in completely obstructing my sight. And in that moment, it all hit me: Blake left me. The Whitefang had captured me. My head was so rattled it hurts to think.

And I can't see.


	28. Chapter 27

*Chapter Twenty Seven

I regained consciousness in a chair. I think. I was still blindfolded and too shaken to use my semblance, but I could hear someone's voice. It was familiar, but antagonistic.

"Wake uuuupp." Roman cackled.

My head moved up to where the voice emanated from. I couldn't see obviously, but my head rose nonetheless. I think I was tied to the chair, but my hands were so numb that I couldn't move them anyway. Why was I in so much pain? Had I been tortured? I don't think so, but then...I don't really remember much.

"Hey kid." Roman continued. "Finally awake I see. If you're wondering why breathing's so difficult, it's because your entire face is covered up in your convenient sashes. Can't take any chances with your 'laser vision' you know?"

I hadn't noticed until he pointed it out, but he was right. Breathing was difficult. I wasn't suffocating, so I assumed that my nose must have been free, but my mouth was covered. But that wasn't what I focused on.

Laser vision? What did he mean? It sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it-

I remembered. At the dock, something happened, and I wound up alone and surrounded. One of the guards theorised that my glowing eyes were a result of laser vision. They must've thought it was my semblance and prepared accordingly. Torchwick continued.

"But now that you're awake, we have some questions for you. I'd recommend honesty."

I felt a hand move over my mouth, and the sash was pulled down from my lips. My breathing drastically improved.

"That's it, kid, take a big gulp of that fresh air. It's nice isn't it? And as such, you don't want to lose your fresh air privileges over something as tedious as lying to me right?"

I didn't know how to respond. I didn't know if I could respond. If I complied he'd find Blake, and Cinder and her friends will know that I was involved. But if I don't, they'll...I don't know what they'll do. I don't know what I'll do.

_I won't lie to you._

...what? Where did that come from? Was that me? No, it can't have been. But who else could it have been?

"Kid?" Roman said expectantly, holding the end of his cane to my cheek.

I didn't have a choice. I endured through the pain of moving my jaw and came up with the line.

"I won't lie to you."

Roman chuckled.

"Good. In that case, we'll start with some questions. What's your name?"

Damn it. I don't know what to say; once again, telling the truth will-

_Gabriel Demonborne._

There it is again. That voice, telling me what to say. Is it my semblance acting on its own? Is that even possible? If it is-if there's even a chance-then I have to follow it; it always knows the way.

"Gabriel Demonborne." I replied weakly.

"See, was that so hard?" Roman said with a smile (I think). "Now then, mister Demonborne, would you mind telling me what you were doing at the docks when we arrived?"

I didn't even think of a response. I just waited for the voice.

_I was just looking around. _

And it came.

"I was just looking around."

"For what?"

_As suitable training ground. I wanted to spar with my partner in privacy._

"As suitable training ground. I wanted to spar with my partner in privacy."

"And your partner is the faunus girl who ran off?"

_Yes. _

"Yes." I didn't want to think too much on that; it would kill me.

"Well, kid, I'm truly sorry for your loss. But on the bright side, it seems that your story checks out; you were just a stupid kid in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's all just a misunderstanding, and hope you can forgive us."

_Us?_

"Us?"

"Oh, just the Whitefang some of my friends who've infiltrated Beacon Academy; their names are Cinder Fall, Emerald Sustrai, and Mercury Black if you're curious."

Did he seriously just give me everything I needed so easily? I can see why he's not the one undercover.

"Oh, and I know what you're thinking: Why did this idiot just give away the name of all of his accomplices? It's quite simple really. Because you asked."

His face got close to mine.

"And now that you know, you know too much, meaning you can't leave any more. I'm truly sorry you're such an idiot."

I felt his cane pushed up against my forehead. I knew it was the cane, as it's hard to forget how a weapon feels after it hits you in the face. I felt a clicking sound, and waited in anticipation.

"It truly has been a pleasure, Gabriel Demonborne. Any final words?"

But I wasn't scared. There was something inside me that was telling me that it was all going to work out, but I couldn't remember what it was. Was it my semblance? No, definitely not; I knew my semblance, and it had nothing to do with how I was feeling. This was something else. Something that, even now, was helping me. It even helped me with my final words.

_Don't forget about me._

"Don't forget about me." I didn't understand the words, but I said them anyway. Roman just chuckled and continued.

"Goodnig-"

There was a knock on the door. The cane fell from my face, and I heard footsteps walking away from me. I heard the door opening.

"What? We're a little busy here!" Roman barked.

"Sorry sir. It's just that they're ready for you."

"Ugh, dammit...no wait, this is perfect!"

The footsteps approached me and a hand grabbed me and pulled me upwards.

"Well Mr Demonborne, you'll be glad to know that your death won't be for nothing. You should be honoured to serve as a prop for my spectacular performance. Take him."

The hand fell from my face, but two more pairs of hands grabbed me from either side and lifted me in my chair, dragging me out the door.

I was finally put down in another room, only this room felt much bigger and...much more occupied. A light shone down on me, I think, and along with some murmurings from around the room, I realised where I was.

It was a stage. I was tied to a chair on a stage in front of maybe hundreds of people. Roman started talking.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the Whitefang. My name is Roman Torchwick, and it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

This was met by a series of boos. I didn't know why. He continued.

"Now, now my friends. I know what you're thinking. 'Who the hell is this human?' 'Who gave him the right to come to our meeting?' And yes, while the majority of humans are vile, disgusting creatures, I have no evil intentions for any of you; I just want to help make a world where the faunus are treated right. Nothing wrong with that right? In fact, it's safe to say that wanting anything besides what I just said is truly evil, no?"

The crowd seemed reluctant, but gave hints of agreement with his statement. I was still unsure what was going on, but Torchwick continued nonetheless.

"And yet, some people still treat the faunus like they're monsters, not caring at how evil they are being. And it just so happens that one such person..."

I felt footsteps approach me.

"Is with us tonight. This man, ladies and gentlemen, is Gabriel Demonborne. His face is covered because his semblance is laser vision, and must be controlled as to not hurt anyone. Unfortunately, we weren't fast enough; before we captured him, he was notorious for using his semblance to torture and murder faunus for his own pleasure, for no other reason than him being able to. Every time someone called for his apprehension by the law, it was dismissed as 'animal cruelty' and not treated with the appropriate justice."

So that's what he was doing. He's going to kill me to motivate the faunus. And it was working, as I was hit with wave after wave of resent from the crowds, damning me and calling for my blood.

"So, it falls to me to mete out the justice that the law would not provide."

His cane pressed against my temple, and the crowd roared in enjoyment. A normal person would panic at this point, but I did not. Something else was at play here, something working to help me; if it wasn't, I would have died in that other room. I remained calm as the cane clicked.

"Goodnight, Demonborne."

I didn't need the voice this time. I knew exactly how to end this. I raised my head and confidently said:

"Don't forget about me."

BANG.


	29. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty Eight

The sound rang in my ears painfully, numbing all my other senses. In the confusion, I think I fell over in my chair, but I lay perfectly still. I mean, I was dead, so I couldn't move anyway. Right?

But I didn't think about that. The sound emanating had dissipated by that point, and left me in complete silence. And the silence was loud, screaming in my ears. Was this what death felt like? This screeching silence for all eternity? No. It wasn't. The voice confirmed that.

_Bruno. We're coming. Hold tight._

Okay, got it. I did as I was told and, sure enough, I felt myself get lifted off the ground and pulled away. I was still blind, but I gave no resistance as it happened. At this point, I knew exactly who'd picked me up. I was still hazy, but my memory was coming back.

I think I was thrown into the back of a car; the engine was on, and once I was in, we began to move. Then I felt a hand touch my blindfold.

_It's okay. You're safe now._

I smiled at her beautiful face as the sash finally came off. It felt so good to see again, and even better seeing her, despite the Whitefang disguise. She smiled back at me and embraced me. Then she pulled back and put a hand to my ear, pulling out a hands-free phone. She then pulled the other one out of her own cat ear.

Blake. I remember now. Everything went perfectly...

..."Hey! What the hell are you two doing?"

I looked to the source of the voice. One of the soldiers spotted us and was approaching. I was so wrapped up in talking to Blake that I hadn't seen him approach. I looked back at Blake, and saw that she still had that hateful look about her. I knew what she was about to do.

So I beat her to it. Before the soldier could get any closer, without even BLINKING, I knocked him out and dragged him out of sight, much to Blake's confusion.

"Bruno? What are you...?"

"You want revenge. They killed your friend and you want them to pay. I completely understand, and am willing to help. But if I do help, then we're going to do it my way."

"What do you mean?"

"We're going to attack them at the core; infiltrate their base, find out all their secrets, and destroy them from the inside out. And to do that, we're going to use this guy."

I picked up the body.

"You put on this disguise and arrest me. Make something up as to why you have to blindfold me, and when you do, slide one of my hands-frees into my ear. You can feed me information to keep me alive, and at the same time find out about who we're up against. And now the hard part."

I approached her.

"Hit me."

"What?"

"Hit me. Hard and a lot. I need to be completely unrecognisable on the off chance that Cinder finds out."

"That's stupid. Bruno we don't have to-"

"No, we don't. But you do."

"Bruno..."

"I love you Blake."

"I love you too."

BAM!

She did a really good job at hitting me as well; I was so out of it that I could barely remember anything. And more than that, she guided me perfectly, and kept me from falling. She's amazing and-

"Hey Bruno!" Jaune called from the driver seat. "When you're done internally monologuing about how great your girlfriend is, we could use some help."

Jaune was here? I looked forward and saw that both Jaune and Ruby were in the front seats, and then looked back and saw a giant mech charging at us through the cars. And it was gaining fast.

"What do you need?" I asked.

"We need you to keep your head down." Ruby said. "Torchwick's in the mech, and if we're lucky, he doesn't know you're in here. What we need is to keep it that way, and get rid of him." Ruby handed me another hands-free. "Put it in."

I did as she said.

"Hello?" I said.

"Bruno, you're late!" Weiss scolded from the other end. "This isn't the sort of behaviour I expect from a model student!"

"Weiss?"

"The very same. Team RWNS and I are waiting to ambush the mech, but don't have a good visual. Can you help us out with that?"

I wasn't sure if I could. Didn't my semblance fail me? I couldn't use it before when-

Ooohhhh...

My semblance was still right; when I was hit in the face, my semblance wasn't faulty. It was doing the best possible solution. It was still there.

"Yes, give me a sec."

Then just like I used to, I shut my eyes, counted to three twice, and

BLINKED.

Team RWNS were waiting on top of an over pass just up ahead. I could see that we were gaining and that they were ready to ambush. But then what? All they had were their weapons, and if that failed, the mech would catch us. I had to rethink their strategy.

...got it.

"Weiss, I need you to set two elevation glyphs on the bridge."

"What? Why?"

"Don't question my methods." Good lord, saying that was satisfying.

Weiss reluctantly obeyed and placed two glyphs on the bridge.

"When we drive over the first one activate it. When the mech goes over the second one, activate that one. Got it?"

"You first, mech second, got it."

"Good. Now tell Velvet to be ready to destroy the highway directly below you once the next glyph goes."

"Um...okay..."

She relayed my orders and I could see Velvet get into position.

"Okay, then what?"

"Okay, now I need Pyrrha to use her semblance to make sure that no cars fall into the pit once Velvet makes it. Should go without saying that there should be no civilian casualties. And Ren's going to have the hardest job of all. Once the mech falls, he's going to jump down and fight it. The impacts should seriously weaken it, but it's still a risk. Tell him that I wish him luck."

She relayed the next orders and they got ready.

"Done. Anything else?"

"Oh yeah, one more thing. You know that overpass you're standing on?"

"Yeah?"

"Get off it. Now."

Weiss urgently relayed the orders and the team jumped off the overpass. And just in time too, as we were about to reach it.

"Okay Weiss, you ready?"

"Yeah."

We drove over the glyph and, in the next instant, we were launched up high into the sky, over the overpass and out of Torchwick's reach. We were still in the air when the mech drove over the next glyph.

And as he did, it launched him upwards, only not into the sky. Its head went straight up into the top of the overpass, smashing loudly and breaking several parts of it. Upon its descent, Velvet opened the bridge and Pyrrha used polarity to keep the cars from falling in. The mech fell straight through and hit the ground with an almighty thump.

Then Ren jumped after it, shooting all the way down. It still had some fight in it, blocking the bullets and swinging back, but it narrowly missed Ren and in the process, the arm came off. Ren kept firing and, sure enough, the mech exploded.

As Torchwick stumbled out, Ren approached to apprehend him. But then a flash of...something appeared, and even dazed my semblance. But in the next instant, Ren was unconscious on the ground, and Torchwick was standing with someone else. A short, colourful girl with pink and brown hair and an umbrella. In the next instant, they both vanished.

I stared in confusion. How? What just happened? As the rest of Team RWNS rushed to help Ren, a single thought remained in my mind.

I need to stop making so many enemies.


	30. Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty Nine

After Torchwick had vanished I looked back at my team, and found them screaming. I then realised that we were still in the air, and about to crash to the ground. I screamed in unison, before calling Weiss again.

"Weiss! Glyph! About three miles north and a few hundred feet up from your location, now!"

There was no reply, but the glyph appeared and slowly began to bring us down. We all sighed in relief.

Blake looked at me and put her hands to my face, a look of concern about hers.

"I'm really sorry I did this to you."

"...am I still pretty?" I smiled crookedly.

"Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and because I love you, I have to say yes. In everyone else's eyes however..."

"You're fugly." Jaune said, passing me a mirror. "See for yourself."

Ignoring his comment, I looked in the mirror, and found he was right.

I had two black eyes, a broken nose, two swollen cheeks both covered in bruises, and cuts all along my lips. I was lucky enough to see that my teeth had stayed intact, which was good, but they hurt like hell nonetheless. Blake really went all out in making me unrecognisable.

But there was something else about my appearance that I hadn't noticed until looking at the mirror; nothing considered major in the eyes of most people, but a serious discrepancy for me.

"Blake, for how long have I been wearing a red hooded jacket?"

My jacket was green. I checked underneath and saw that the green one still wasn't there. It was my favourite jacket...but Blake put my worries aside, and pulled it out of her bag, along with Tranquil which had also been missing.

"Sorry, they're here. When I beat you up I took them off you so you'd be less likely to get recognised by Cinder had she been there. I found the red jacket and put it on you while you were asleep, to keep you freezing to death."

"Convenient she did too," Jaune said. "Because of your wounds and bandages, no one there knew what you looked like, so they only know to look for someone with a red hoodie."

"Wait. I wear a red hoodie!" Ruby stated on panic.

"Ruby, I think there's some obvious differences between you and I. Or should I say, you and Gabriel. Nice name choice by the way Blake."

"Thanks. It was just the first thing that came to mind."

I looked outside to see that we were slowly coming into land in front of Beacon, and that Team RWNS were waiting at the bottom. But Ren was limping on Pyrrha's shoulder. When we landed, we got out and they greeted us.

"Nice work Weiss." I said quietly.

"Don't 'nice work' me!" She snapped. "Ren got injured because of you!"

"Weiss, it's fine..." Ren said weakly.

"It's not fine! He endangered one of my team, and I can't excuse that. But more than that, he endangered his own team."

She turned to me.

"How had you planned on landing safely had I not been available?"

"What? I would have...err..."

"You don't know, do you? If you want to be organized, you have to think ahead! You almost endangered your entire team by being reckless like that!"

She was right. I hadn't thought it through, and as a result, I'd got Ren injured. I should have foreseen this and not made him go alone. But then Jaune stepped in.

"Hold on. I was watching Ren fight, and saw that someone else appeared next to Torchwick; an assistant or something. Bruno couldn't have known that she would appear, and so he didn't plan for it. It isn't on him."

"That doesn't matter to me. A smart leader would've sent more than one person after him, since all three of us were available. He has no excuse for not being prepared."

She turned back to me.

"My team operates under my orders. Don't ever tell them what to do again."

She walked away and Team RWNS followed. The rest of my team looked at me in concern.

"Don't take it too hard." Blake assured me. "You did what you could with what you had."

"No, she's right." I said, dizzily. "I shouldn't have told her what to...what to..."

My head started aching again and I bent forwards, my team rushing to catch me.

"Bruno, are you all right?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, I'm..."

I passed out.

I awoke in the same hospital room I found myself in after my initiation. Only it was the middle of the night, and I could barely see a thing. I BLINKED to look around.

All the doctors were in the other room drinking tea, and I saw a heart monitor. Was I really in that bad of a state? Then I looked closer and saw it was connected to someone else: Ren, who was asleep yesterday. I examined his injuries and saw that he'd suffered a serious leg fracture, and the shock and pain had slowed his heart, hence a heart monitor was linked up to him. What kind of monster would do this to him?

...me. I did it. Weiss was right, I shouldn't have sent him out alone, and now he's in a critical state and Team RWNS is out a team member, all because I wasn't prepared. I thought my decision to get myself captured was the smarter decision which would reduce the damages. And now, here I was, injured in a bed next to someone else who I injured. I shouldn't be the leader. Ozpin made a mist-

"Bruno?" I heard from next to me, weakly. "Are you...awake?"

I turned. Ren was awake and looking at me. He was struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Ren...I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"Don't. I can't accept an apology."

He resented me, as expected. I couldn't blame him, seeing as I resented me too.

"I understand."

"No, you don't. I can't accept an apology because it wasn't your fault."

"What? But I sent you alone into-"

He smiled.

"I once fought a Deathstalker on my own at age ten, I was more than capable of taking down a robot and a man. But no one could've prepared for Torchwick's henchman; not you, and certainly not Weiss."

He sighed.

"His henchman...was a monster. You didn't see because of the flash, but she was so quick and deadly that my leg was broken before I'd even acknowledged her existence. I think Torchwick called her Neo. No one could have predicted that."

"But even still...I should have at least sent someone with you."

"Did Weiss tell you that?"

"Yes."

"Of course she did... Do you know what her master strategy was? 'When you see it, jump on it.' That was it. No preserving the citizens, no protecting you guys, she didn't even think about the order in which we would jump on it. Weiss is a great leader when it comes to being organised and giving life lectures, but had we followed her orders, we'd all be in this hospital listening to her ranting about how this was somehow our fault. So don't worry too much about it."

Ren turned back over as much as his leg would allow.

"Now I'm tired. I'll talk to you in the morning. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

I turned back as well, feeling a lot better. Ren forgiving me had really helped put my mind at ease, but I still had cause for stress; Cinder and her friends, Ozpin's undoubtedly lecturing me, Weiss standing outside the door having heard everything Ren said and then running away in tears-

Oh, god-dammit.


	31. Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

When I awoke, it was the morning and my room wasn't as empty. Several doctors were up, and I turned to see that some of them were helping Ren to walk around.

"Wow, that's a quick recovery." I said, astounded.

"That's what I said." Ren responded, holding onto a doctor's shoulder. "Apparently they strengthened my aura with Dust in order to increase the healing process."

"Don't say it like you're out of the woods Mr Ren." One of the doctors said. "You still have a long way to go before you can go out and fight again."

The doctor turned to me.

"And as for you Mr Hawke, you have a long way to go before your face is fully healed. You have a while to go before I'm going to let you fight again."

At that point, it was a welcome idea; I was tired of fighting for now.

"Onto other news, I have a message. Ozpin wants to see you in his office when you're able to walk."

That was to be expected. I said my goodbyes to Ren, got changed, and walked out. I didn't see anyone from my team or Ren's team on the way, but about halfway to his office, I was stopped.

"Hey, Bruno right?"

I turned back and saw her, smiling abnormally cheerily, and I almost panicked at the sight of her, though I managed to maintain my composure. Her smile went away when she saw my face.

"Oh my, are you okay?" She asked.

"Oh, this?" I pointed at my face. "Sparring match that got out of hand. Don't worry about it."

I looked at her again.

"Cinder, right?"

She nodded and went back to smiling, though I knew it was fake.

"That's right. Anyway, I was wondering..." She went a nervous red colour, which looked disturbingly unnatural for her. "Would you like to go to the dance with me?"

...eh? The dance? I'd completely forgotten about that, not that I planned on going anyway. But more importantly, what was she planning? If only my semblance could read people's faces...though even if it could, I couldn't risk her finding out what my semblance was. It was a tempting offer to find out what she was up to, but I had to decline.

"I'm sorry, but I have a girlfriend."

She looked disappointed, but understood.

"Okay, sorry for bothering you..."

"Not at all. See you around."

I walked away, back towards Ozpin's office. When I arrived, I was surprised to see that my team was there already. Upon my entrance, Blake rushed up and hugged me, and I embraced back.

"I'm so glad you're okay." She said, pulling back.

"I'm fine, don't worry. But what are you guys doing here?"

"I invited them." Ozpin said, from his desk. "It's good to see that you're on your feet Bruno. I'll lecture you about the origin of your injuries later. For now, we have more pressing matters to deal with."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

What was he plotting?

"I'm not plotting anything Mr Hawke."

I need to stop thinking around him, because that's getting creepy.

"I have a mission for you all."

"A mission?" Jaune queried. "But Bruno just got out of hospital. We shouldn't rush into a new mission so soon, should we?"

"Don't fret, this mission shouldn't require any combat. It's simple surveillance."

A mission without combat? Surveillance? He wants us to spy on _them _doesn't he?

"That's right Bruno. Blake has already informed me of your findings that Cinder and her friends are in league with Roman Torchwick. This is great cause for concern, and must be dealt with. Unfortunately, the entire school will be under threat if we draw attention to it. Which means..."

He smiled.

"...do you remember a while ago that I'd find a way for you to help investigate? Well I found a way."

He was giving me what I asked for; I'd been pestering him for days about getting involved, and now he's finally agreeing to help me. So why did he seem so smug about it?

"I have reason to believe that they are planning to infiltrate the Cross Continental Transmit Tower and are going to try and hack into it."

"Why?" Blake asked.

"I don't know. But that tower contains most of Beacon's vital information, some of which is highly confidential, and deadly in the wrong hands. But on a more basic level, it can transmit a signal to a far range, and potentially lure a bigger threat to us."

"Wait, but this is all theoretical right? Do you even know if they're going to enter the tower?"

"No, not for certain. But I do know this: If they are going to do that, they'd have to do it at a time when there's very little chance of them being caught by someone other than a guard. And what better time to do it than when almost every student and teacher are in the same room?"

"What are you getting at?" I asked.

"The dance." Blake concluded.

"Precisely. At the dance, myself and most of the staff will be gathered in the main hall, as will most of the students. It wouldn't be far off to assume that those three will make an appearance as well, before sneaking out and entering the tower."

"So you want us to guard the tower then?" I asked.

"No. If they enter the tower and find you waiting, they'll escape, and know that you're on to them. It'll put you all in unnecessary danger."

"So...what then?"

He smiled smugly.

"Bruno...you're going to the dance..."

Bastard. That's what he was smug about.

"The plan is for the four of you to go to the dance separately, and observe the three of them from afar. From there, you need to distract them and keep them from leaving the dance. If you have to talk to them directly, keep your intentions discreet."

"Why do we have to go separately?" Blake asked. "Can't we go together?"

"It's for the off-chance that you need to talk to them, or if they talk to you. While dangerous, talking to them may be a great way of keeping them distracted. And if you all go alone, it increases the likelihood of them talking to you. They may even ask you to dance with them."

"Why would they do that?" Jaune asked.

...why _would _they do that? Cinder came and asked me directly...why?

"As I said, it's a small chance. But if it happens, it will work wonders. Anyway, I think that's enough talk. The three of you should be off."

We all turned to leave.

"Oh and for Remnant's sake, no destruction of property!" Ozpin called. "I saw what you did to that highway, and I want none of that at my school!"


	32. Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty One

Pain. All around me was pain. A dark thread choked me mercilessly, while another around my waist suppressed my breathing further. Around my torso was a mocking blanket of darkness which further emphasised my discomfort, as it did to my legs and feet as well. And all the while, the woman I love stared at me in a grin, mocking my pain and humiliation. This was my life now...

"Bruno, stop complaining, your tuxedo looks fine." Blake insisted, though it fell on unbelieving ears.

"I don't care how I look; I can be the prettiest girl at the dance and I still wouldn't care. Good lord this is uncomfortable."

One of the reasons I was against going to the dance was specifically because I had to wear a tuxedo. Needless to say, it was as bad as I'd imagined.

Blake, however, looked amazing. Her dress was simple and black, and complimented her shy attitude, but by lord could she pull it off.

"So, do you remember the plan?" Blake asked.

"Of course. You and I do whatever it takes go keep them from leaving the party. Ruby's on watch to see if anyone enters the tower, and Jaune's in charge of the fail-safe."

A look of worry appeared on Blake's face as I said that.

"Don't worry. It shouldn't come to that. Anyway, we have to go in separately so I should be heading out."

"...yeah. Yeah, go ahead."

I noticed a tinge of sadness on her face.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'll live. It's just...I know it's stupid...I hate dances anyway, but..."

She sighed.

"I wanted to go with you. Not on a mission, not separately, just as a regular date. And now instead, you're going to be dancing with everyone except me."

She went quiet, a look of sadness had taken over. I had never even considered the possibility of Blake wanting to go to the dance with me, so I never asked. I just figured, like me, she wasn't interested in it. I walked up to her and kissed her softly for a second before pulling back.

"I'm sorry Blake. We can go to another dance some other time together, just the two of us, okay? And as for the other girls, I'll keep them at a distance, I promise."

"And if one gets too close?"

I smiled and pulled out Tranquil along with my ammo pouch. I then pulled out five different darts. Unlike my black "kill" darts, these one's were coloured differently; blue, red, purple, orange, and green. As I pointed to each one respectively I said.

"Sleep, itching, laxative, paralysis, extreme body odour. If they get too close I'll lend you Tranquil and you can punish accordingly."

Blake smiled an evil smile.

"Perfect."

Her smile then became gentler.

"Thank you Bruno. I love you."

"I love you too, Blake. Now anyway, I do need to get going now, so I'll see you in there okay?"

Upon leaving Blake I quickly exited the school building and made my way to the hall. Before going inside I placed a hand to my ear and said.

"Testing. Can you guys hear me?"

Three replies came from my hands-free.

"Yeah I can hear you." said Blake.

"Loud and clear." Ruby said.

"Yeah, just give me a second." Jaune said in a struggling voice. "Trying to get the fail-safe ready."

"Okay, I'll leave you to it. Ruby, how's things on your end?"

"Tower's clear. Got some guards in front of the entrance, but nothing to report besides that."

"Good. You see anything you let us know. All right, I'm heading inside. From hear on out, I'll feed you guys information about what's happening, as will Blake when she arrives. Otherwise, unless it's an emergency, we'll need radio-silence, that okay?"

My team responded in agreement.

"Okay. Good luck team."

I took my hand away and entered the hall. Despite my dislike for dances and parties, they'd actually done a pretty good job on this one; there were balloons, tables, music, and all sorts of colourful dresses and suits. The first of those dresses I saw was Yang's, as she greeted me at the door from behind her podium.

"Hey Bruno!" She said with a smile. "Glad you could make it. How's Ruby?"

"Hey Yang." I responded. "Yeah Ruby's good. She told me she had some extra work to do so she'll be running late, but she'll be arriving shortly."

In actuality, she probably wouldn't have time to attend, which was a shame as Ruby's dress was really pretty. Still, there was always a chance, so she wore it just in case.

"Yeah, that's my little sister, always leaving her work to the last minute." Yang laughed. "Anyway, give me one second while I check you off the list."

She looked at her list and searched through the names.

"Your girlfriend coming?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, she'll be here in a sec."

"Good to know; we prepared a few slow dance songs after midnight for all the happy couples if you're interested."

She winked.

"Heh. Thanks, I'll be sure to let Blake know."

"Anyway, you and Blake are checked off, you can come in. Enjoy the dance!"

I smiled and entered the dance. I quickly looked around with my real eyes to see if I could spot any of them already. I couldn't find any of them unfortunately, but I did see Team RWNS chatting and enjoying themselves. I considered joining them until I saw Weiss and remembered the night Ren and I spent in the hospital. It would probably be best to avoid her for tonight.

Instead I decided to sit alone on one of the empty tables, and maybe subtly look around for Cinder's group. With my head down I BLINKED and looked around. It seemed that Cinder's group hadn't arrived yet, as I couldn't see them anywhere. Which was a bit of a cause for concern. I quietly put my hand to my ear and said.

"They aren't here yet. Ruby, any updates?"

"Nothing to report." She replied.

"Okay, good. Blake, you good?"

"Yeah, going to the dance now."

"Good, I already checked you in so Yang will just let you through. Anyway, I-"

"Hey."

I was interrupted by someone shaking me. I turned off my semblance and looked up to see a familiar face.

"You okay buddy?" Neptune asked.

"Huh?"

"Alone, face down on the table, mumbling to yourself, you don't exactly scream 'happy' if you know what I'm saying."

"Oh. umm...I'm okay. You're Neptune right?"

"Yeah, and you're Bruno, the guy who saw me get mugged and jumped on. How have you been?"

"I've been okay. How are you settling into Beacon?"

"Pretty well. People are nice, classes aren't boring, teachers are kind of annoying but aren't all teachers?" He chuckled. "Yeah, I've been doing okay. But you clearly haven't been. You want to talk about it?"

"I told you I'm okay. Don't worry about me."

"Your call buddy. Anyway, Sun's up dancing, you want to come with?"

"Errm...dancing's not really my thing."

"Me neither! Doesn't mean it's not fun!"

He leaned in closer.

"I learned a while ago that being a good dancer isn't what makes you cool. What makes you cool is being an average dancer, but enjoying it. So come on, let's flop on the dance floor together."

He got up and pulled me up with him, in a manner suggesting that he'd convinced me to dance. He hadn't, but at that point I'd just given up. We walked through the crowd of people to where Sun was dancing and Neptune began to join in. The pair of them began to laugh and flail happily around while I was slower and less...floppy with my movements.

"Come on Hawke, lighten up. It's fun!" Neptune encouraged.

Even if I wanted to, I was pretty sure that any sudden movements in my tuxedo would choke me to death. I almost gave in when I heard Blake's voice from my ear say:

"Okay, I've arrived."

"Sorry guys, I gotta go. I'll join you later."

I walked away from them, my hand to my ear.

"Where are you now?" I asked.

"By the entrance. Cinder's group not here yet?"

"Nope. Not sure where they are."

"Well, in that case...maybe you and I could..."

I smiled.

"Sure. Wait there, I'll come get you."

I made my way through the crowd of people to the entrance. I was kind of upset that it wasn't midnight yet, as I'd have loved to slow dance with Blake, but this would have to do. Once I was through, I saw Blake by the entrance. She saw me and her face lit up, and I began to approach. But as I did, I was stopped by someone, and I turned around to find it was Weiss.

"Hey Bruno. Do you have a second?"

"Errm, I was just about to..."

She looked at Blake, then back at me.

"It won't take long. The length of one song. I promise."

She dragged me away as I looked back at a sad Blake. I mouthed the words "sorry" as I was pulled through the crowd. As I was being pulled, something Weiss said occurred to me: "The length of one song." Why use that as a unit of measurement? Unless...Oh God no.

Sure enough, when Weiss stopped, we were in the middle of the floor, and she'd turned to place her hand in mine and my chest against hers. She wanted me to dance with her. It was one thing dancing with Blake, where all we'd do was probably stand close to each other and lay our heads on the others shoulders, but with Weiss? She was a professional, while I'd had literally zero practice.

I quickly noticed that, while one of my hands was entwined with hers, the other was by my side, and Weiss was expectantly waiting for me to do something. And she had her familiar rage smile on, which I knew all too well. It meant that if I didn't do something quickly, she'd flip.

I subtly looked around at the other dancers to see what they were doing. Sun and Neptune where doing something similar to us, so without thinking I did exactly what Neptune's hand was doing. It wasn't until after I'd realised where his hand was, and after Weiss' shocked death glare, that I realised I'd just placed my hand on her butt.

"Sorry, hand slipped." I said in panic.

I then hazarded a guess and placed my hand slightly higher around her waist. It seemed that that was right, but it would be a struggle before either of us could get over our embarrassment. Especially since I had no clue what to do next. I considered using my semblance, but then I realised that, not only did I not want to risk that, but I'm pretty sure not even that could get me out of this situation.

"Left foot to the left." Blake said through my hands-free. I had to stifle a sigh of relief at her assistance.

I obeyed and slowly placed my left foot forward, and in response, Weiss placed her right foot back.

"Now follow with your right." I obeyed again, and Weiss responded with her left.

"Repeat, starting with your right foot, then continue to alternate, sometimes going back."

I did as she said and soon we were moving around. Blake continued to feed me instructions as we continued to dance.

"So anyway," Weiss said. "I need to talk to you."

She's going to chastise me again after what she heard from Ren and me. I braced for the abuse.

"I'm sorry." she said.

"...eh?" I managed to let out.

"About Ren's injury. I shouldn't have blamed you like that."

I was shocked. Genuinely, I expected a yelling.

"It-it was nothing." I said. "You were right to be angry."

"No, I wasn't. I wasn't right at all. The truth is..."

She reddened in shame.

"I was envious."

"What?"

"I envied your plan. You'd somehow thought everything through in the span of a few seconds whilst barely conscious, when all I'd thought about was how to maybe do a bit of damage. It was so much better than mine and...and when you started giving us orders on the bridge...I got angry. I was upset that I hadn't thought through a plan like that, and blamed you for when something went wrong, when in actuality my plan would've been a whole lot worse. I just...I thought I'd changed since I'd started here, you know? But I'm still the same..."

I could see that a tear was falling from her face.

"Hey." I said.

She looked at me.

"You are nothing like the girl I met on my first day, understand?"

"But I am...I was envious of you and..."

"What, and you think I've never felt that way? At least twice a day I chastise myself for not being as good a leader as you. I've seen the way your team looks up to you. Sure you have a short temper, and sometimes you can be a little selfish. But you just need to take one look at Velvet to know that you're nothing like you used to be. Before, you never would have considered even associating with a Faunus, but now, instead of just associating with one, you put aside your personal feelings in order to protect one and ensure that she wasn't left out. That takes an extraordinary level of strength and kindness. And I can promise you that Velvet loves you for it. So don't worry about apologising, okay? I'm just glad that you're all okay."

She smiled as another tear escaped her face. She then leaned in and kissed me on the cheek before pulling away.

"Thank you Bruno."


	33. Chapter 32

*Chapter Thirty Two

After that, I heard my girlfriend's angry voice in my ear.

"If that happens again I'm getting the laxative."

"What was that?" Weiss said in confusion. "Was that Blake?"

She looked at my ear and saw the hands-free.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"It's...errm..."

As I was thinking of an explanation, I realised that I'd gotten distracted and hadn't checked if Cinder's group had arrived. I BLINKED and found that all three of them were there.

"They're here." I said to my ear.

"What do we do?" Blake asked.

"Who's here?" Weiss asked. "Bruno, what's going on?"

I was about to make up a lie, before I had an idea.

"Weiss, I need your teams help. It's important."

Weiss was quick to respond. "Sure. What do you need."

"Do Ren or Pyrrha have dates?"

Confused, she replied with:

"No, why?"

"Good. Could you ask them to distract some people for us? We need to keep Emerald Sustrai, Mercury Black, and Cinder Fall at this dance. Can they do that?"

"Errm...yeah, I suppose. But there's three of them. What about the last one?"

I sighed.

"I can do it."

"Okay. Understood."

She walked to her team as I began to approach Cinder. I was kind of annoyed that Ruby hadn't told me that they'd arrived, but it didn't matter now.

I found Cinder on her own in a beautiful black dress which went down to her ankles. She'd since separated from her friends which I could see were being approached by Ren and Pyrrha. I did the same and approached Cinder, who saw me as I approached and smiled.

"Hey." she said happily.

"Hi." I responded. "Would you like to dance?"

She went unnaturally red again and giggled happily.

"I'd love to."

I took her hand gently and led her to the dance floor. Being quite a bit taller than Weiss, Cinder's eyes were directly in line with mine, so dancing with her was quite a bit more intimidating. Nonetheless, I endured through it and danced using the steps I memorised from Blake.

"So." she said. "What made you change your mind?"

"Errm..." I had to think of a lie. "My girlfriend and I broke up."

Even saying that felt horrible, and I was just praying that Blake would understand. But luckily I quickly heard my earpiece say:

"It's okay, just do whatever it takes. I love you."

I'd have responded had I not been in front of Cinder.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that. I hope I'm enough to keep you satisfied for now..." she said with an innocent smile.

"Don't worry, you're more than enough." I was sure I was going to throw up after this.

She smiled again, and bit her lip.

"Well, I'm glad you think so. I was always afraid I wouldn't be enough for you."

"I-I'm sorry, I don't follow..."

She giggled a bit, before continuing.

"You're cute when you act oblivious."

She moved in closer to me, as I tried to suppress the gagging sensation that was forming in my mouth. It wasn't that I was repulsed by her, in fact it was the opposite; and that made it so much worse.

Eventually she was right up in my face, her nose inches away from mine. I could feel her breath on my lips, and wondered if, were she to smell my breath, she'd be repulsed and step away. No such luck unfortunately.

"Don't worry,I'll make it perfectly clear for you."

Her eyes closed and she moved in closer. I knew exactly what she was about to do, and knew nothing about how to get out of it. I knew Blake gave consent to it, but this was just too much for me.

"It's okay." I heard Blake say. "Do it. I'll be sure to hit her with all five of your darts once you're done."

With a heavy heart, I gave in and pushed forward against her lips softly. And I was glad in a sense; Blake's lips gave me a tingly taste of pure happiness, that always reminded me of how much I loved her. Cinder's lips, while still glossed, scented and filled with passion, felt bland in comparison, no matter how into it she was.

Unfortunately, she was very into it; her hands had since come up to my cheeks as she tried to pull me in closer, while I tried to keep my hands to my sides. I wanted nothing more than to push her away, but I know I couldn't do that.

"Bruno." Blake whispered. "You have to try harder. If you don't, she'll feel rejected and leave the party. Act like you're enjoying yourself. Don't worry about me. It's only for one night."

Even though she was right, I had no idea what to do. With Blake it always just came naturally, but I'd never had to think about what I was doing. Blake caught on and began giving me instructions.

"Put your hands on her butt."

Goddammit. Reluctantly, I obeyed and slowly slid my hands onto her rear, giving it a little squeeze (how is it that I'd touched two girls' butts tonight, and neither of them were my girlfriend's?). She moaned in content and I could feel her smiling through the kiss. I was just praying that it would be over soon.

"Bruno, we have a problem." Blake said after a few minutes. "Ren and Pyrrha weren't as...distracting as you're being, and Mercury and Emerald are leaving. Should we initiate the fail-safe? Tap your left foot once for yes, twice for no."

Without hesitation, I tapped my foot once. Not only was I not about to risk them leaving, but it might give me a chance to break away.

"Got it. He'll be here in a second."

I continued to cringe my way through kissing Cinder until, finally, the fail-safe arrived. From the entrance, I heard a series of giggles from the crowd, until I heard the familiar voice shout:

"HELLLOOOO LADIES!"

At that, Cinder broke away to look to the entrance, and stepped away fully when he came into view.

I never want to find out exactly where it was that Jaune got that dress from, but at that moment I didn't care. Everyone, including Cinder and her friends, were staring at Jaune's beautiful white dress, and all of them were laughing hysterically. It worked, but now that it had been used, we had to be quick.

"Cinder, give me a second." I said, smacking her butt as I left for the boys toilets.

Once I was done washing my mouth and hands of Cinder's lips and butt, I put my hand to my ear again.

"Ruby, can you here me?"

"Nothing to report." She replied.

"Good, Jaune's activated the fail-safe, we need to secure the-"

I was cut off by a sudden blackout, shrouding the room in darkness. From outside, I could tell that it was going on outside too. With no other choice, I BLINKED and made my way out of the toilets.

"Ruby, you still there?" I said.

"Nothing to report."

"Well, we got something to report here. The dance hall blacked out, might be a way out for Cinder and her friends. We need you to keep a look out, do you understand?"

"Nothing to report."

"That's not what I'm saying Ruby. Do you understand me?"

"Nothing to report."

"Ruby! You need to-"

I stopped, realising the huge anomaly that was right in front of me.

"Ruby, say 'apple'."

"Nothing to report."

"Oh no."

I was about to sprint outside to find her when I was yanked back from behind with an arm around my neck. I could see a sharp knife being pointed at my eye.

"Hey Bruno." Cinder whispered in my ear. She pointed. "Do you mind telling me what's on that table?"

I looked where she was pointing; there was a table with two cups and a flower.

"Two cups and a flower." I said.

She laughed. "Just as I suspected. Your semblance is supervision. I must say, you were by far the hardest to figure out for certain. I applaud your ability to hide it."

Before I could even register how big of a blunder I'd made, she pointed in another direction.

"I take it that means you can see them, can't you?"

I followed her finger and saw a sight that made my blood boil. Blake and Jaune had been gagged while Mercury and Emerald held knives to their throats.

"And because of that, you understand the consequences of what will happen if you try and resist me." She whispered into my earpiece. "Same goes for you Blake. Next time be a little quieter when ordering your boyfriend to grab my ass."

"What did you do with Ruby?" I barked in a hushed tone.

Cinder giggled, only this time I could hear the evil in her voice.

"Your team-mate has been...acquired...by our forces. She's still alive and unharmed, and she'll remain that way. Unless you choose to interfere with our plans. Oh, and if you even try, I'll know. I know that you're the one who investigated with Ozpin, I know that you're the one who Torchwick captured and then lost, and I know that the four of you have been working together to stall us from going to the tower."

She smiled maliciously.

"And the thought never even occurred to you that we might have entered the tower BEFORE we went to the dance. Oh you poor kids...so stupid."

She pulled me in closer.

"Now, since you have trouble following things, I'll make this perfectly clear: Interfere with our plans again, and that includes telling anyone about them, will result in Ruby's death, followed by your own deaths. All of you nod if you understand."

I nodded, as did Blake and Jaune.

"Good. Now the lights will come back on, and you will leave us be. Okay?"

We nodded again, and the lights came on, with the three of them removing any evidence of what they'd just done.

"Oh, thank Remnant!" Cinder cried as she held me tightly, her evil smile still in her eyes. "I was so scared! Thank you for comforting me Bruno!"

She then kissed me deeply again, but this time, I didn't fake being into it. I didn't think of a way out. I didn't even cringe.

I just went straight onto the throwing up part, followed by the passing out part.


	34. Chapter 33

*Chapter Thirty Three

I awoke in my bed, wondering how I'd ever managed to get to sleep after the dance. It was the middle of the day, and Jaune and Blake were watching over me. Though without Ruby, my room felt incomplete, and a shroud of despair began to cloud my mind. Not even Blake managed to bring me back.

"Hey." she said with a half smile, mainly there for my reassurance. "You okay?"

"No..." I said groggily. "Not without Ruby."

Both Jaune and Blake adopted my sad expression as I said her name. Then Jaune had an idea.

"Wait, Bruno, what if you use your semblance to find her? It can find anything right?"

"I guess, but there's not much point. Cinder will know we're coming, and if we get too close they'll kill her."

"And so, for that reason, you aren't going to try? This is my girlfriend we're talking about Bruno! If we do this, we can at least know where she is!"

He had a point; if we knew where she was, we could figure something out from there. I decided he was right. I did as he asked and BLINKED, before zooming out of Beacon. Following her trail from the rooftop she was positioned on, I determined that she'd been knocked unconscious and thrown into a car. That would be a problem; in terms of tracking, my semblance's level is only high enough that I can track things which have an aura, which is why I can track people and their footprints. Cars don't have an aura, so I have to rely on the aura of whoever's inside it. In this case, Ruby's.

When I followed her aura onto the highway, things started to get a bit more confusing. Not wanting to lose focus, I mumbled the word "blindfold" to Jaune and Blake, and they wrapped one of my sashes around my eyes. Sure enough, it amplified my semblance and allowed me to focus. The path that Ruby took became clearer as a result of my focusing, but then started to fade. I assumed it was as a result of distance, but it was becoming a problem. In fact, after another mile in the car, it was really dim. I had to find some other way to focus.

But before I could ask for something, her aura began to shine brightly, and continued to as she went on. I had no idea why, but chose to ignore it and continue to focus. Finally the car stopped, and Ruby was pulled out. I zoomed out from her to see where she was.

But as I did, something happened; something that had never happened before. The area in my semblance vision started to distort, and shake rather violently. Everything with an aura started to blur into everything without an aura, and I was left staring into a pit of distorted darkness. That same darkness followed me as I looked around, trying to find some sort of...something. I tried turning, but I was completely immobile, and then I realised why. I was scared. As soon as I tried to turn, all the fear that had been surrounding me floated up to the front of my mind, and had sealed me in place.

Then I felt something. It was similar to the feeling of being pulled, though I felt nothing holding on to me. It was more like I was being detached from something I was stuck to. No, thinking about it...it was more like the thing I was stuck to was pushing me away.

"Bruno"

A familiar voice echoed in the darkness, and this time I did feel something latch on to me.

"Bruno."

The voice again. I got pulled again.

"Bruno!"

BLINK

Upon hearing Blake's voice, I disconnected from my semblance and found myself sat up on the bed, gasping for breath. Blake and Jaune were stood by my side, Jaune's hand on my shoulder.

"Bruno." Jaune said, worried. "Are you okay?"

I looked up at him in a dazed stare, trying to process the question. I came up with the answer.

"errmm...I think...so."

Upon that, Blake embraced me tightly, sobbing into my shoulder. I hadn't realised she was crying.

"Blake...it's okay. Don't cry."

She pulled back, wiping a tear away.

"Don't cry? Do you have any idea how terrified I was?"

"What? I was only out for a few seconds."

"No Bruno. You weren't." Jaune said. "You've been in a coma for two days."

I stared at him blankly, trying to wrap my head around those words. Two days. I'd been asleep for two days?

"How...Why was I...What?"

"And that's not the worst of it." Jaune said quietly. "You-oh, right, that reminds me. I need to go tell everyone."

He approached the door, before turning back.

"Blake. Will you be okay on your own?"

It took me a second before I'd realised what he just asked.

"I'll be fine." She said. "Go."

Without another word, Jaune left the room.

"Blake?" I asked. "Why did Jaune ask that?"

She looked at me with sad eyes. But there was something else there, hidden beneath it. Fear.

"Bruno, do you really remember nothing?" She asked.

I shook my head. She sighed.

"Do you know why you're still on your own bed, instead of a hospital bed?"

She went quiet, before responding.

"It's because you wouldn't let us move you. You were in a coma but...you were violent. Every time someone tried to pick you up, you started slashing out furiously and screaming in a high pitched primal roar. And when we tried holding you down, you started seizing violently, entering a critical condition. We almost lost you three times."

Every word sent me further and further down a pit of broken despair. Half of it I hadn't even processed properly, and still I could feel the chill behind them. Questions began to arise. How did this happen? What happened while I was asleep? Who did...? As the last question entered my mind, anxiety and fear shot through me of a calibre I'd never experienced. But I had to know.

"Who did I hurt?" I asked, monotonously.

"You didn't cause anything permanent. Everybody's-"

"Who did I hurt?" I asked, more sharply.

She sighed sadly.

"You hit Jaune and Ren when they tried to pick you up the first time. You also kicked Professor Port in the face when the staff were trying to hold you down. And..."

She trailed off, a greater hint of sadness in her eyes. As her hand began to approach her face, I realised why, and that same sadness shrouded me a hundred times over. If I had the will to speak left I'd have begged her to stop. To put her hand back down and tell me I hadn't done what I thought I did. But she didn't. And instead, her hand pulled her hair back, revealing three long cuts which stretched from her dimple to her human ear.

"...I tried holding your hand while you were asleep and..."

I stared at her, wide eyed in disbelief, before my head dropped and I was staring at my hands. When I turned them over to look at my nails, I noticed that a tear was falling from my face.

"I'm sorry..." I whimpered pathetically.

As I said that, Blake embraced me again, and for the first time in my life, I was the one crying into her shoulder. I continued to repeat the words "I'm sorry" over and over until the sobs drowned them out into naught but tearful mouth movements.

"It's okay..." she said.

"It's not!" I said loudly. "None of this is okay!"

I realised that it wasn't just this incident which had me in tears.

"Cinder has us on a leash, Ruby's in danger, I've injured my innocent girlfriend and...I think I've lost my semblance..."

"What?"

"...when I was in a coma, all I could see was darkness. No people, no places, nothing. It was worse than being blind. And I was so scared..."

"Bruno...I don't know how this happened but...but I'm here for you, okay? I love you. I don't understand everything about what you're going through. But I'll be here for you. Like you've always been for me."

In that moment, all I wanted to do was kiss her and tell her to never leave. But then I remembered our promise.

"Blake. Please stay away from me for now."

She looked confused, and a little hurt.

"What?" she asked. "Why?"

"Because I can't break our promise. You promised you would tell me if you were in danger, and I promised that I would help you through it. And right now, you're in danger when you're around me."

"Bruno, I'm-"

"No. I can't risk hurting you again. When I figure out what's happening to me, I'll let you know, but for now...you can't be near me. Please Blake."

She was quiet for a moment, emotionless in a sense. Before finally she whispered.

"Okay."

She then looked me in the eyes and kissed me softly, before breaking away and rising.

"Goodbye." She said, before she left the room.

I lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to comprehend whether or not I'd made the right decision. I must have. Blake was in danger around me, and I'd already hurt her once. I can't risk her being caught up in my problems like this This was definitely the right call.

So why did I feel crappy about it? Why had I started sobbing again? Why was I curled up in a ball, whimpering like a damn child? Maybe...maybe it was just that...

I was really scared of being on my own.


	35. Chapter 34

Chapter Thirty Four

After realising that despite my loneliness I shouldn't spend too long wallowing in it, I finally decided to rise from my bed. In doing so, I quickly realised that it might not have been a good idea to make Blake leave before I'd tried walking. Being unstable, I quickly fell to my knees upon my first attempt, and began to struggle with getting back up. I decided against using my semblance to help, or at all for a very long time, on the off chance I trigger something again.

As I continued to struggle to my feet, Jaune walked in, with Weiss, Ozpin and Glynda behind him.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" Jaune said, running to my side. "Why are you doing that alone, you idiot?"

He stuck my arm around his shoulder and hoisted me back up, sitting me on the bed again.

"Speaking of, where's Blake?" he asked.

I sighed. "I sent her away after she told me about what I did while in the coma. I couldn't risk her safety like that."

I looked up at him.

"I can't risk yours either. You need to-"

"Not happening." He interrupted. "You need support right now, and I'm not going to abandon you." He smiled. "Besides, I can always hit you harder if need be."

"Somehow I doubt that." Weiss said from behind him.

I looked at her as she approached me.

"Weiss..."

She embraced me for a second, before pulling back.

"You idiot!" She scolded. "Only you could put yourself into a coma by sitting on your bed. You are the epitome of laziness!"

"I missed you too Weiss." I said with a smile.

She smiled too. "I'm glad you're safe."

"Though she does have a point." Ozpin input. "How exactly did this happen?"

I looked down, trying to think of a response.

"And in case you're worried about what you can say, I'll tell you what I've already been told by your team. I know that Cinder's plan was a success, I know that she's figured out your semblance, I know that she's kidnapped Ruby, and I know that she tried to use her to blackmail you into silence. And I also know that she's an idiot if she thinks she can keep secrets from me."

I was still unsure how to respond.

"How about we give you a minute to collect your thoughts?" Glynda suggested. "And maybe change your clothes."

"I second that." Jaune said. "I know you love that jacket, but sitting on a bed for two days does a number on your scent."

I chuckled; he was right, I could feel my stench on my body. And it didn't feel pretty.

"Take a shower, I'll find some fresh clothes for you."

"We'll wait outside." Ozpin said. "Call us when you're done."

Weiss, Glynda and Ozpin all promptly left the room, leaving Jaune to help me up. He put my arm around his shoulders again and walked me to the bathroom.

"You don't have to do that, I think I got it." I said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Good, because I can smell your pit when your arm's around me."

Once he let me go, I cautiously but steadily walked to the bathroom. Jaune went to my drawers and looked for clothes for me, while I entered the bathroom and shut the door.

I proceeded to take off my clothes and step into the shower, rinsing off my poisonous aroma. Washing my hair seemed to take a while since it had grown out since I started at Beacon, both on my head and my hair. Once I was done, I stepped out and looked at myself in the bathroom mirror. Upon doing so, I picked up my razor and began to shave my face, so that the only hair upon my head was my long light hair on top.

I turned to the sound of a knocking on the door.

"Hey, I got some clothes for you." Jaune said.

I wrapped a towel around myself and opened the door. He handed me a pile of clothes.

"Thanks." I said, closing the door.

I examine the clothes he gave me: A white shirt, some black jeans, socks, underwear, my black combat boots, and a red hooded jacket which seemed oddly familiar. Once I put everything else on I picked it up.

"Hey Jaune, where's this jacket from?" I asked.

"It's the one from that Whitefang rally. Blake stole it off some soldier and gave it to you so you wouldn't freeze on stage."

"Oh yeah. That's the one."

I put it on, and instantly felt uneasy. Maybe it was just being used to my green one, but the red one made me feel like I wasn't...me. Looking in the mirror I felt the same way; like that I didn't go well with the black stripes along my arms, or the weird insignia-like drawings on the back. I wasn't sure what it was, but wearing it made me feel was like...the feeling you get when you see a thing which you know triggers a friend, so you automatically try to avoid it so to not cause them anxiety or panic. Only...I couldn't for the life of me remember who that friend was. I took it off and, leaving the shower, threw it on the bed.

"You aren't wearing it?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah, didn't feel right." I said, sitting back on the bed, which had been deprived of its duvet and covers as Jaune had thrown them in the wash.

"Well, don't come crying to me if you get cold." He said. "Anyway, I'll go get Ozpin, wait here."

He got up and walked to the door, opening it. Ozpin and Glynda entered, telling Weiss and Jaune that they'd like to speak with me privately. They closed the door behind me, and approached me. Ozpin sat on the bed opposite me, while Glynda stood beside me, as if she was monitoring the exchange.

"All right." Ozpin said. "Tell me everything."

Over the next hour, I told them everything I knew, even the stuff they didn't already know, like how I fell into Roman's hands, and about his henchmen Neo. And as for the coma, I revealed that I did it in an attempt to find her location.

"And?" Ozpin asked. "What did you find?"

I tried to remember. It was very hazy, and I didn't want to think too hard in case I triggered it again. But eventually I pieced something together.

"I think they'd made it about 20 miles north before I blacked out."

"That's up towards Mountain Glenn." Glynda remembered.

"Set out a search party around there." Ozpin ordered.

"Understood sir." Glynda said as she promptly left the area.

"Now, Bruno, we need to figure something else out."

I looked at him quizzically.

"Can you still use your semblance?"

"I'd already decided that I wanted to hold off for a bit." I told him.

"Well, I don't think that's an option right now. We need your semblance."

He sounded abnormally forceful about the matter. He got up.

"Follow me. We need to test it."

"But sir, I told you-"

"Now."

I obeyed, following him to the training grounds. A training dummy stood at the ready, stoically in position.

"Fight it." Ozpin commanded.

Despite how forceful he was being, I reached into my pocket, only to remember that Tranquil was probably still in my green jacket.

"My weapon's still in my room. I should go and get it-"

"You don't need it. Just fight."

"But-"

"Now!" he shouted.

Something was seriously up with him. I glared at him, his angry eyes staring back at me. Finally, he gave way, and tossed me a battleaxe.

"There's your weapon. Now do as I say."

Reluctantly, I faced the dummy, though after realising exactly what was going on, got ready to strike the target standing behind me. The battleaxe felt weird in my hands, but I could still hold it, and that was enough. I then very carefully BLINKED.

My supervision turned on without a hitch, and I analysed the situation quickly. Then, in as subtle a step-back as I could manage, I turned and swung at 'Ozpin'. He-no-_she_ narrowly dodged and I smashed the battleaxe into the ground. I turned to look at her, seeing through her Dust forged disguise.

"Cinder." I snarled hatefully.

"Hello, Bruno." She said. "I had such a fun time at the dance. Did you?"

Deciding that pulling it out would be a wasted effort, I released the battleaxe and charged at her with several quick, well placed strikes. It had been a while since I'd fought unarmed, but it had been my favoured style for a long time, and it paid off, as I took her by surprise and knocked her to the ground.

"No." I said. "You're a horrible kisser, and you're butt's too squidgy for my taste." (It was at this point that I thanked Remnant that no one saw me saying these things to the principal of the school)

She laughed in her evil giggle.

"As I said, you're cute when you're oblivious. You attempt to fight me when you've already done what I wanted."

"What do you me-?"

That was all I managed to get out before I got drowned out by my own screams, as I fell to my knees and gripped my head violently. Slowly, my semblance began to go black again, and I realised that I'd fallen into her trap.

"Thank you kindly for going into your semblance for me. It makes this so much easier." She said as she pulled me up by my hair."You're such a gentleman."

I couldn't see her, but I felt her lips against mine and cringed again, screaming as loudly as I could.

"Oh, I know it hurts now." She said. "But it'll be over soon."

That was the last thing I heard before my hearing began to distort along with all my other senses. Then came the familiar pulling sensation, which seemed much more violent this time, as if I was being pulled by an injured limb. If I could scream I would, but it wouldn't have helped, as one by one I felt myself get pulled away, until finally, I disconnected.

The distortion stopped. I opened my eyes, and slowly, but unusually easily, got up. Cinder was still there, crouched down looking at something. She couldn't see me. I looked down at what she was looking at. To this day, I still wonder how, even though it was probably physically impossible, I didn't pass out from shock at the sight of it.

It was my own body. I was watching Cinder crouched down looking over...

me.


End file.
